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fug

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fug¹

  • /fʌɡ/ US, UK
  • /fɐɡ/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /fʊɡ/ Northern England

Sounds like thug (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -ʌɡ

Where it comes from

The origin of the noun is unknown; originally dialectal and school slang, it is possibly derived from or related to one of the following:

* Fog (“thick cloud that forms near the ground”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Germanic *feukaną (“to blow; to be blown away”) and from Proto-Indo-European *pew-, *pewg-, *pow- (“to billow; to blow; to drift”).

* Fogo (“(UK, slang) stench”), a variant of hogo (“strong, unpleasant smell”), from haut gout, haut-goût (“(archaic) slight taint of decay, particularly in wild game meat, that used to be considered desirable; (obsolete) piquant or strong flavour”), from French hautgoût, from haut (“high”) + goût (“taste”).

* A back-formation from fuggy.

* A blend of funk (“foul or unpleasant smell”) + fog.

The verb is derived from the noun.

noun fugs

  1. countable, informal, uncountable A heavy, musty, stuffy, or unpleasant atmosphere, usually in a crowded or poorly ventilated area. "Someone's been too much for you," remarks Bistow, seating himself in the most comfortable chair, as a consolation for the prevailing fug.
  2. countable, figuratively A state of chaos or confusion; a daze. There was a fug of fear in the room.

verb fugs · fugging · fugged

  1. transitive To create a fug (“heavy, musty, stuffy, or unpleasant atmosphere”; etymology 1, noun sense 1) in (a place). Inside, the Golden Lion was fugged with the smoke of too many cigarettes and the unhappy sound of a darts team practising.
  2. transitive To surround (someone or something) with a fug (etymology 1, noun sense 1). The air was warm and close and the late afternoon sun was fugging through grey clouds and making them light - still grey, but light, really light.
  3. transitive To put (someone or something) into a fug (“daze”; etymology 1, noun sense 2); to confuse, to daze. The adrenalin, though diminished, was still running through my veins; the red mist was lifting but my mind was fugged by this unfamiliar combination of hormones, slowly intermingling with indignity and contrition and the dawning of familiar, ignominious defeat.
  4. intransitive To create a fug (etymology 1, noun sense 1). The hub, or nerve center, of the coach business was a big shed next to the stable. It smelled—no, it stank of—no, it fugged of—horses, leather, veterinary medicine, bad coal, brandy, and cheap cigars.
  5. intransitive Sometimes followed by up: to be surrounded by a fug (etymology 1, noun sense 1), for example, in an enclosed, stuffy place. Well, I like it a jolly sight better than fugging up in those carriages with all that gassing crowd of Garden Home fussers.

fug²

  • /fʌɡ/ US, UK
  • /fɐɡ/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /fʊɡ/ Northern England

Sounds like thug (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -ʌɡ

Where it comes from

A variant of fuck.

interjection

  1. euphemistic Euphemistic form of fuck It's always somethin' or other. Ah, fug it. I'm away now.

noun fugs

  1. singular, singular only Preceded by the: used as an intensifier. I don't know jes where the fug he think he is at.
  2. Something of little value. I didn't know what any of it meant and didn't give a fug either.
  3. A contemptible person. Look at those fugs!

verb fugs · fugging · fugged

  1. transitive Used to express displeasure about (someone or something). He knew he would never eat them; they were merely an added load in his pack. Aaah, fug this.
  2. transitive To damage or destroy (something). Zit my fault the rotary fugged up and the new one's buggered?
  3. transitive To copulate with (someone). All went well until girls started writing things like, 'I want to win a date with Tuli because I want him to fug me.'

fug³

  • /fʌɡ/ US, UK
  • /fɐɡ/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /fʊɡ/ Northern England

Sounds like thug (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -ʌɡ

Where it comes from

A variant of fag (“(Australia, Ireland, UK) cigarette”).

noun fugs

  1. slang A cigarette.

Translations

Every language

noun heavy, musty, stuffy, or unpleasant atmosphere, usually in a crowded or poorly ventilated area

DeutschMuff
Русскийдухота́ duxotá, спёртый воздух spjórtyj vozdux

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Cite this
MLA

"fug." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/fug. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

fug. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/fug

Chicago

"fug." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/fug.

BibTeX
@misc{fug_2026,
  title = {fug},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/fug},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}