bog down

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Definition

  1. Verb (transitive):

    • To cause something or someone to slow down significantly or become stuck, often in a figurative sense implying hindrance or obstruction.
    • To cause to become stuck as if in a bog or mire; to mire.

  2. Verb (intransitive):

    • To become stuck and unable to move forward, either physically or in progress.
    • To become overly involved in details to the point of halting progress.
Usage and Examples

  • Transitive use (to cause to get stuck/slow):

    • Excessive bureaucracy can bog down even the simplest administrative process.
    • The heavy rainfall bogged down the military convoy in the mud.

  • Intransitive use (to become stuck/slow):

    • The negotiations bogged down over minor contractual details.
    • Our car bogged down in the soft sand near the beach.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
  • Often used in passive constructions to describe a state of being hindered.
    • The project got bogged down in legal disputes for months.
  • Frequently applied to abstract concepts like processes, discussions, or projects that lose momentum.
    • Try not to let the planning meeting bog down; we need to keep moving forward.
Variants and Related Words
  • Bog (noun): An area of wet, spongy ground; a marsh or swamp. This is the literal origin of the phrasal verb.
  • Bogged (adjective): Describes the state of being stuck.
    • The bogged tractor needed a tow.
  • Mire (verb/noun): A close synonym meaning to cause to get stuck in mud or, figuratively, in a difficult situation.
Synonyms
  • Stall: To cause to stop making progress.
  • Hinder: To create difficulties, resulting in delay or obstruction.
  • Encumber: To weigh down or burden, slowing movement or progress.
  • Mire: To involve in difficulties, especially those that impede progress.
Phrasal Verb Notes
  • "Bog down" is an inseparable phrasal verb. The object (what is being bogged down) can come after the phrasal verb or, in some cases, between "bog" and "down," though the latter is less common.
    • Correct: The details bogged the project down. / The details bogged down the project.
    • Common Pattern: Something bogs down. / Something bogs someone/something down.
Related Idioms and Expressions
  • While "bog down" itself functions as a phrasal verb, it is conceptually related to the idiom "get stuck in the mud," which carries a similar literal and figurative meaning of being unable to advance.
  • "Bogged down in the weeds": An extended figurative expression meaning to be overly focused on trivial details, preventing sight of the main goal or progress.
    • The committee bogged down in the weeds debating the font size instead of the report's content.
Verb
  1. cause to slow down or get stuck
    • The vote would bog down the house
  2. be unable to move further
    • The car bogged down in the sand
  3. cause to get stuck as if in a mire
    • The mud mired our cart
  4. get stuck while doing something
    • She bogged down many times while she wrote her dissertation

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