fug

1 of 2

noun

: the stuffy atmosphere of a poorly ventilated space
also : a stuffy or malodorous emanation
fuggy adjective

fug

2 of 2

verb

fugged; fugging

intransitive verb

: to loll indoors in a stuffy atmosphere

transitive verb

: to make stuffy and odorous

Examples of fug in a Sentence

Noun They sat in the dense fug of a smoky bar.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The fug of beer, the sight of so many shiny bottles, the circulating trays of Champagne can sometimes be too much, especially for those new to, or feeling shaky in, their sobriety. Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023 In the forties, a German beekeeper named Johann Thür used the term Nestduftwärmebindung—literally, nest-scent-heat-binding—to convey the heady fug of warmth, humidity, pheromones, and other mysterious signals that is essential to a healthy bees’ nest. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023 The fourth quarter, when the Chinese economy began to re-emerge from its COVID fug, was also better for Tencent. Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023 Armies of young women emerged from the fug of subway stations every day to fill the offices of those magazines. Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2022 As reporters from The Washington Post went into some of the flats at Chalcots Estate, a public housing development in central-north London, they were met with a thick fug of heat. William Booth, Washington Post, 19 July 2022 East Village, audience members are enveloped in a thick cloud that’s really just theatrical haze, not a pot-smoke fug. New York Times, 22 July 2022 The Mercury Store is in Brooklyn, a few blocks from the reeking Gowanus Canal and only steps from Third Avenue, where the air is heavy with asphalt fug. Helen Shaw, Vulture, 28 July 2021 That he is trailed by a fug of damaging allusions: Burisma. Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Noun

perhaps alteration of fog entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1888, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1889, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of fug was in 1888

Dictionary Entries Near fug

Cite this Entry

“Fug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fug. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!