English Reference

Word

glug

/ˈɡlʌɡ/

Definitions

01to pour or flow noisily

B2

v. to flow or pour out of a container with a gurgling sound.

v. to flow or be poured from a container in rhythmic, noisy bursts.

“The wine glugged into the glass as he poured it quickly.”

“The thick oil glugged slowly out of the rusted drum, making a heavy sound against the metal floor.”

Informal

Usage

The verb is often used with 'out' or 'into'.

Synonyms

gurglepour

02to drink quickly

B2

v. to drink something in large, noisy gulps.

v. to swallow liquid rapidly and audibly.

“He was so thirsty that he glugged down the entire bottle of water.”

“After the long race, the athlete glugged down a litre of sports drink without stopping for breath.”

Informal

Usage

Commonly used as a phrasal verb with 'down'.

Synonyms

gulpchugquaff

Antonyms

sip

03a sound or amount

B2 · Cooking

n. the sound of liquid pouring, or the amount that comes out in one 'glug'.

n. the sound produced by liquid moving in bursts, or the informal unit of measure representing one such burst.

“Add a glug of olive oil to the pan before you fry the onions.”

“The only sound in the quiet kitchen was the steady glug of water filling the ceramic pitcher.”

Informal

Usage

Often used in cooking contexts to mean an imprecise, generous amount.

Synonyms

splashgurgle

Etymology

Onomatopoeic, imitating the sound of pouring or swallowing liquid.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Rare
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference