glug

1 of 2

noun

ˈgləg 

plural glugs

1

or glug-glug

ˈgləg-ˈgləg 

plural glug-glugs : a gurgling sound (as of a liquid pouring from a bottle)

Russian sleeper trains are filled with the sounds of laughter, the glug of vodka being poured and playing cards slapping makeshift tables.

—Hannah Jane Parkinson

The only sounds were by Handel and the glug-glug of the pool filter.

—Don Van Natta, Jr.

2

a

: a small amount of liquid especially when poured from a bottle

a glug of olive oil

She turned the taps to start the water running, poured in a generous glug of vanilla bubble bath …

—Cindi Myers

b

: a large sip

took a glug of water before returning to the ring

glug

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly glug-glug or glug-glug-glug

ˈgləg-ˈgləg-ˈgləg 

glugging also glug-glugging or glug-glug-glugging; glugged also glug-glugged or glug-glug-glugged; glugs also glug-glugs or glug-glug-glugs

transitive + intransitive

1

: to flow or pour with a gurgling sound

… the Delaware river glugged below us.

—John Washington

Liquid began glugging out onto the refrigerator shelf.

—Reed Johnson

… bottles obligingly pop, and liquid glug-glugs into glasses.

—Adam Tschorn

… like pouring soda out of a two-liter bottle. And while it glug-glug-glugs out, if you were to punch a hole in the bottom of the bottle with an ice pick, you'd allow more air in, and the soda would pour out more quickly.

—Tom Magliozzi, quoted in The Wichita (Kansas) Eagle

Alessandro parks the martini trolley by us, pours Sacred Extra Dry Vermouth into iced glasses and swirls it to line the glass, before glug-glug-glugging out the gin.

—Damian Barr

2

: to drink quickly

glugged some water

glugging beer/wine/champagne

Unless you suck alcohol through a straw more rapidly than you glug, drinking through a straw does not raise your blood alcohol level faster than other ways of drinking.

—Roger Highfield

"… When the police arrived, they all had two-litre bottles of water, and they just glug-glug-glugged so that they would dilute whatever they had in their system … ."

—Kristina Rutherford

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Once every two weeks, my plants get a big glug of this drink. —Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2021

Every morning during Ramadan, high school soccer player Zara Hasan wakes up around 4:30 a.m. for a quick bowl of oatmeal and quite a few glugs of water for suhoor. —Zareen Syed, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2023

A couple glugs of dry sherry and a bit of thyme round out the flavors. —Anna Luisa Rodriguez, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2023

Heat up a pan with a nice glug of neutral oil, about a ½ inch deep, and carefully drop in your sandwich, making sure the bottom piece is submerged. —Anna Gass, Bon Appétit, 17 Dec. 2020

Sprinkle with a pinch of chile flakes, drizzle with a two-second glug of olive oil and, finally, add a hearty splash of vinegar. —Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2021

Brandy is the traditional fortifier, but if your liquor cabinet needs a restock, a glug of vodka or rum will get the job done. —Sarah Karnasiewicz, WSJ, 13 Oct. 2020

The method is simple: Melt as much butter as your heart desires or heat a good glug of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-low to medium heat. —Washington Post, 10 June 2021

Meanwhile, Starbucks is yassifying their own trademark bevs not with alcohol, but with smooth glugs of olive oil. —Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 24 Feb. 2023

Verb

The rest of us apparently just glug it down. —Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

imitative

Verb

derivative of glug entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1707, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1895, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing glug

• glug-glug
• glug-glug-glug

• glug-glug
• glug-glug-glug