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PlainSpell

chug

/t͡ʃʌɡ/noun, verb

chug is spelled C-H-U-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chug means “A dull, fairly quick explosive or percussive sound, as if made by a labouring engine” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chug is chugs.

How many letters and syllables are in chug?

Letters4: C-H-U-G
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 31,974th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is chug?

Chug appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,974th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce chug?

  • US /t͡ʃʌɡ/
  • Australia /t͡ʃɐɡ/
  • /t͡ʃʊɡ/

Chug has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-chug.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with chug?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as chug from its last stressed vowel (/ʌɡ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of chug

  • chugs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • chugging participle, present
  • chugged participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does chug mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A dull, fairly quick explosive or percussive sound, as if made by a labouring engine.

  2. 2

    A large gulp of drink.

    He drank his beer in three chugs.

  3. 3

    A homemade Cuban boat, built to carry emigrants to the USA, and often abandoned upon arrival.

  4. 4

    derogatoryA person of Native American descent.

  5. 5

    A palm muted note on a distorted electric guitar.

  6. 6

    A dog that is a cross between a pug and a chihuahua.

verb

  1. 1

    To make dull explosive sounds.

  2. 2

    To move or travel whilst making such sounds.

    We were chugging along a back road when the engine cut out.

  3. 3

    To move or travel at a steady, although not especially fast, pace.

  4. 4

    colloquialTo drink a large amount (especially of beer) in a single action/without breathing; to chugalug. Usually chanted at the person who is drinking.

    Chug! Chug! Chug!

  5. 5

    To function or perform with difficulty, typically due to inadequate resources or performance limitations.

    My game chugs every time too many NPCs are onscreen.

  6. 6

    UKderogatoryslangTo solicit charitable donations on the street, particularly in a persistent manner.

    I got chugged in the town centre today.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Chug in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchvrombissement, rugissement (sound), caler, boire cul sec (to drink a large amount in a single action)
GermanPuffen, Tuckern (sound), auf ex trinken (to drink a large amount in a single action), kräftiger Zug (large gulp), tuckern, puffen (to make dull explosive sounds)
Portuguesevirar (to drink a large amount in a single action), gole (large gulp)
Spanishengullir (to drink a large amount in a single action)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does chug come from?

Onomatopoeic, in imitation of a working steam engine. The racial slur sense derives from the stereotype of Native Americans chugging alcohol.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after chug