WordGarden.ioglug
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /ɡlʌɡ/Southern-Englandinterjection
US
- /ɡlʌɡ/Southern-Englandinterjection
Meanings
Verb
to drink quickly in large noisy mouthfuls
to make a hollow bubbling sound as liquid moves
Noun
a large gulp or small pour of drink
a hollow bubbling sound made by moving liquid
Interjection
imitating the sound of liquid being swallowed or poured
Beyond the definition
Have you ever tipped up a bottle of water, juice, or sauce and heard that glug, glug sound as the liquid came out in uneven bursts? That is the heart of this word. It can name the sound itself, and it can also describe the way liquid pours when air keeps getting in between. People sometimes use it as a verb for drinking something quickly in big gulps too. It is a sound word, so it naturally feels vivid and a little playful.
"Glug" is a vivid, informal word for the gurgling sound a liquid makes when it comes out in uneven bursts. Imagine pouring the last bit of milk onto your cereal and hearing that clear glug as air bubbles go back into the bottle. That is the classic kind of moment this word describes.
The word is mainly about sound, but it also often describes the action that goes with it. A liquid can glug out of a bottle, sink, or drain when it moves in a stop-and-start way with little bursts of air. You might say, "The syrup glugged out of the bottle," or "Water glugged down the drain."
It can also be used for drinking. To glug a drink usually means to swallow it quickly in big gulps, often with that same throaty sound. For example: "He was so thirsty that he glugged down the whole glass of water."
This is not usually a formal word for academic writing, but it is common and natural in everyday English because it captures both a sound and a movement so well. It often feels playful, but the meaning is very clear: liquid moving with a gurgling, stop-and-start sound, or someone drinking fast in gulps.
Examples
- 1
Pouring sound
Water glugged out of the bottle as she poured it into the glass.
- 2
Quick drinking
After the race, he glugged down half a bottle of water.
- Patternglug down + liquid
drink quickly in large mouthfuls
- 3
Cooking amount
Add a glug of olive oil to the pan before the onions.
- Usagea glug of
an informal, inexact amount of liquid
See also
Similar
Shades of meaning
Contrast
Used with (collocations)
- water glugged from the bottle
- a glugging sound
Word family
- glugging
- glugged
Explore
- onomatopoeia
- liquid sounds
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- glugverb