lug
/lʌɡ/noun, verb
lug is spelled L-U-G: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lug means “The act of hauling or dragging” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lug is lugs.
How many letters and syllables are in lug?
| Letters | 3: L-U-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 25,751st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 lug?
Lug appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 25,751st 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 lug?
- US /lʌɡ/
- Australia /lɐɡ/
- /lʊɡ/
Lug 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-au-lug.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with lug?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lug from its last stressed vowel (/ʌɡ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: gul.
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 lug
- lugs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lugging participle, present
- lugged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lug mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of hauling or dragging.
a hard lug
- 2
That which is hauled or dragged.
The pack is a heavy lug.
- 3
Anything that moves slowly.
- 4
A lug nut.
- 5
A device for terminating an electrical conductor to facilitate the mechanical connection; to the conductor it may be crimped to form a cold weld, soldered or have pressure from a screw.
- 6
A part of something which sticks out, used as a handle or support.
- 7
A large, clumsy, awkward man; a fool.
- 8
UKAn ear or ear lobe.
While shaving, the poor sod had a fit and cut part of a lug off.
- 9
UKA rod or pole.
- 10
UKarchaicA measure of length equal to 16+¹⁄₂ feet.
- 11
A lugsail.
- 12
The leather loop or ear by which a shaft is held up.
- 13
A loop (or protuberance) found on both arms of a hinge, featuring a hole for the axis of the hinge.
- 14
A ridge or other protuberance on the surface of a body to increase traction or provide a hold for holding and moving it.
verb
- 1
To haul or drag along (especially something heavy); to carry; to pull.
Why do you always lug around so many books?
- 2
To run at too slow a speed.
When driving up a hill, choose a lower gear so you don't lug the engine.
- 3
To carry an excessive amount of sail for the conditions prevailing.
- 4
To pull toward the inside rail ("lugging in") or the outside rail ("lugging out") during a race.
noun
- 1
Initialism of lesbian until graduation.
- 2
Initialism of Linux user group.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lug in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cosse , oreille, tenon , trimbaler, traîner |
| German | Kabelschuh |
| Spanish | cargar con, arrastrar, jalar, acarrear, carrear (disused) |
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 lug come from?
From Middle English luggen, possibly from a Scandinavian/North Germanic source, (compare Swedish lugga, Norwegian lugge); also in English dialectal as lig (“to lug”). Noun is via Scots lugge, probably from Old Norse (compare Norwegian and Swedish lugg). Probably related to slug (“lazy, slow-moving”), which may be from similar source(s).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).