chug /tʃʌɡ/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle chugged , present participle chugging )
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: From the sound ]
1 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a car, train etc chugs somewhere, it moves there slowly, with the engine making a repeated low sound
chug along/up/around etc
The boat chugged out of the harbour.
2 . [transitive] ( also chug-a-lug ) American English informal to drink all of something in a glass or bottle without stopping
3 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to make slow but steady progress:
The economy just keeps chugging along.
—chug noun [countable usually singular]