slogging

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitiveinformal

   Working very hard for a long time at something difficult or boring.

   Grammar: No object; often used after be or keep, and usually followed by away or through: They were slogging away at the accounts.

   Patterns

   • slogging away at something
   • slogging through something
   • keep slogging

   She spent the whole weekend slogging away at her essay.

   We were slogging through piles of paperwork until midnight.

   He kept slogging at the same problem for hours.

2. 2verbtransitive or intransitivesportinformal

   Hitting a ball very hard, especially in cricket or baseball.

   Grammar: Can take an object (slog the ball) or stand alone (he slogged for six). It is used mainly in sports reports.

   Patterns

   • slog the ball
   • slog something over the field

   The batsman was slogging the ball over the boundary.

   They were slogging away in the final over to chase the runs.

3. 3verbintransitiveinformal

   Walking with heavy, slow steps over a long distance.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by through, up, or along to show the route or place.

   Patterns

   • slog through something
   • slog up something
   • slog along something

   We were slogging through the mud for miles.

   They were slogging up the hill in the rain with heavy bags.

4. 4noununcountableinformal

   Hard, tiring work that continues for a long time.

   Grammar: Uncountable; used with words like real, hard, or long before it: It was a real slogging.

   Patterns

   • a lot of slogging
   • hard slogging

   The project was months of hard slogging.

   All that slogging finally paid off when the results came in.

Word forms

Common combinations

slogging away at something

He was slogging away at his thesis all summer.

slogging through something

They spent the morning slogging through the rain.

hard slogging

Getting the shop ready took weeks of hard slogging.

keep slogging

Just keep slogging and you will finish on time.

Synonyms and how they differ

grinding

Grinding suggests long, repetitive work that wears you down; slogging often suggests steady effort with a goal in sight.

toiling

Toiling is more literary and often suggests physical labor; slogging is more informal and can describe mental work too.

plodding

Plodding means moving or working slowly and steadily; slogging adds a sense of heavy effort or difficulty.

Opposites

Word family

slog verb

To work hard or hit a ball hard; the base form of slogging.

slog noun

A period of hard, tiring work or a long, difficult walk.

slogger noun

A person who works very hard or a player who hits the ball hard.

Commonly confused: slogging or sluggish?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “slogging”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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