often attributive
1
: a usually bulky piece or length of a cut or fallen tree
especially
: a length of a tree trunk ready for sawing and over six feet (1.8 meters) long
2
: an apparatus for measuring the rate of a ship's motion through the water that consists of a block fastened to a line and run out from a reel
3
a
: the record of the rate of a ship's speed or of her daily progress
also
: the full nautical record of a ship's voyage
b
: the full record of a flight by an aircraft
4
: a record of performance, events, or day-to-day activities
logged; logging
1
a
: to cut (trees) for lumber
b
: to clear (land) of trees in lumbering
—often used with off
2
: to make a note or record of : enter details of or about in a log
3
a
: to move (an indicated distance) or attain (an indicated speed) as noted in a log
b(1)
: to sail a ship or fly an airplane for (an indicated distance or period of time)
(2)
: to have (an indicated record) to one's credit : achieve
logic
variants
or logo-
: word : thought : speech : discourse
logogram
logorrhea
see -logue
Synonyms
Examples of log in a Sentence
Verb
Thousands of trees have been logged in this area.
The forest has been heavily logged.
The company has been logging in this area for many years.
Part of his job is to log all deliveries.
Truck drivers log thousands of miles every week.
She has only been flying for a few months, but she has already logged more than 80 hours.
a pitcher who has logged more than a hundred victories
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Recent Examples on the Web
Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 27 Sep. 2023
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the oldest wooden structure on record: a pair of interlocking logs connected by a notch that date to 476,000 years ago.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023
Getting Lost is a log of her affair with the married Soviet, so this is obsession as it’s really lived, with the self-replenishing present as a slaughterhouse of subjectivity; Simple Passion is the steak tartare.
—Tobi Haslett, Harper's Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
But few companies have created custom tools and dashboards with daily logs of that data for employees and their managers.
—Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023
The data dashboard, in a log of 15 complaints reported this summer, also defended 911 center employees for their response to District Dogs.
—Emily Davies, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023
However, his TikTok account meant to document his renovation process has turned into video logs of the multitude of crimes that have been committed there.
—Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner, 17 Sep. 2023
On Thursday, Prince William and Princess Kate also joined the children in skimming bark off logs and sawing some lumber for a tree den — and Kate even popped inside for a look!
—Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 15 Sep. 2023
He was found hiding in or near a large pile of logs behind a John Deere store in South Coventry Township, about 30 miles from the Chester County Prison.
—Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2023
Cheyenne Haslett, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2023
Kaplan reprimanded him and ordered him to stop logging into a VPN.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 28 Sep. 2023
Your dad spent seven years in prime time on Growing Pains and logged hundreds of episodes on game shows.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 27 Sep. 2023
The Nasdaq logged the biggest weekly decline, with a drop of 3.6%
Treasury yields dipped.
—WSJ, 22 Sep. 2023
Another fun quirk of federated media is that, even if you’re logged in to Mastodon on your own instance, you are not logged in on any of the others in a way that does not make sense if you’re not used to it.
—Nathan Edwards, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2023
The number of overtime hours logged by officers on the San Francisco police force jumped 54% from 2021 to 2022, according to the City Controller's Office.
—Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2023
The 23-year-old former undrafted free agent started as the Ravens’ slot cornerback in the first two games of the season, logging 95% of the defensive snaps there against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and 73% in Week 1 against the Houston Texans.
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2023
More than 5,100 complaints have been logged against FIS so far via CFPB’s consumer complaints database.
—Pablo Manríquez, The New Republic, 18 Sep. 2023
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Noun
One simple, but super-effective step toward better understanding your diabetes—including your A1C—is keeping a log of your routine.
—Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 27 Sep. 2023
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the oldest wooden structure on record: a pair of interlocking logs connected by a notch that date to 476,000 years ago.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023
Getting Lost is a log of her affair with the married Soviet, so this is obsession as it’s really lived, with the self-replenishing present as a slaughterhouse of subjectivity; Simple Passion is the steak tartare.
—Tobi Haslett, Harper's Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023
But few companies have created custom tools and dashboards with daily logs of that data for employees and their managers.
—Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023
The data dashboard, in a log of 15 complaints reported this summer, also defended 911 center employees for their response to District Dogs.
—Emily Davies, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023
However, his TikTok account meant to document his renovation process has turned into video logs of the multitude of crimes that have been committed there.
—Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner, 17 Sep. 2023
On Thursday, Prince William and Princess Kate also joined the children in skimming bark off logs and sawing some lumber for a tree den — and Kate even popped inside for a look!
—Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 15 Sep. 2023
He was found hiding in or near a large pile of logs behind a John Deere store in South Coventry Township, about 30 miles from the Chester County Prison.
—Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2023
Verb
The Department of Education encourages borrowers to log into their Federal Student Aid portals and check who their servicer is, then log onto their servicer portals.
—Cheyenne Haslett, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2023
Kaplan reprimanded him and ordered him to stop logging into a VPN.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 28 Sep. 2023
Your dad spent seven years in prime time on Growing Pains and logged hundreds of episodes on game shows.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 27 Sep. 2023
The Nasdaq logged the biggest weekly decline, with a drop of 3.6%
Treasury yields dipped.
—WSJ, 22 Sep. 2023
Another fun quirk of federated media is that, even if you’re logged in to Mastodon on your own instance, you are not logged in on any of the others in a way that does not make sense if you’re not used to it.
—Nathan Edwards, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2023
The number of overtime hours logged by officers on the San Francisco police force jumped 54% from 2021 to 2022, according to the City Controller's Office.
—Barnini Chakraborty, Washington Examiner, 20 Sep. 2023
The 23-year-old former undrafted free agent started as the Ravens’ slot cornerback in the first two games of the season, logging 95% of the defensive snaps there against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and 73% in Week 1 against the Houston Texans.
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2023
More than 5,100 complaints have been logged against FIS so far via CFPB’s consumer complaints database.
—Pablo Manríquez, The New Republic, 18 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'log.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English logge
Noun (2)
by shortening
Combining form
Greek, from logos — more at legend
First Known Use
Noun (1)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1699, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Noun (2)
1631, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of log was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing log
Dictionary Entries Near log
Cite this Entry
“Log.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/log. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
log
1 of 3 noun
ˈlȯg 
ˈläg
1
: a large piece of a cut or fallen tree
especially
: a long piece of a tree trunk trimmed and ready for sawing
2
: a device for measuring the speed of a ship
3
a
: the daily record of a ship's speed and progress
b
: the full record of a ship's voyage or of an aircraft's flight
4
: a record of performance, events, or day-to-day activities
a computer log
log
2 of 3 verb
logged; logging
1
: to cut trees for lumber or to clear land of trees in lumbering
2
: to put details of or about in a log
3
a
: to move a distance or reach a speed as noted in a log
b
: to sail a ship or fly an aircraft for an indicated distance or time
the pilot logged thousands of miles and hundreds of hours
log
3 of 3 noun
Legal Definition
log
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on log
Nglish: Translation of log for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of log for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about log
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