I. fog 1 /fɒɡ $ fɑːɡ, fɒːɡ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] cloudy air near the ground which is difficult to see through SYN mist
thick/dense/freezing fog
We got lost in the thick fog.
It will be a cold night, and there may be fog patches.
A blanket of fog covered the fields.
The fog lifted (=disappeared) in the afternoon.
2 . [singular] informal a state in which you feel confused and cannot think clearly:
My mind was in a fog.
fog of
the fog of tiredness
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COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + fog
▪ thick/dense/heavy fog (=great in amount and difficult to see through)
The two lorries collided in heavy fog.
▪ freezing fog
Flights were cancelled due to freezing fog.
▪ swirling fog (=which blows around)
She could not see through the swirling fog.
▪ patchy fog (=in some areas but not in others)
Mist and patchy fog will form tonight.
▪ hill/sea/ground fog
Rain was forecast, along with hill fog.
■ verbs
▪ be covered in fog
The mountains were covered in fog.
▪ be shrouded in fog literary
The streets of London were shrouded in fog.
▪ the fog comes down ( also the fog descends literary ) (=it appears)
Day after day the fog came down.
▪ the fog rolls in (=it arrives from the mountains, the sea etc)
The fog rolled in from the ocean.
▪ the fog lifts (=it disappears)
He sat and waited for the fog to lift.
■ phrases
▪ a blanket of fog (=a large area of fog)
A blanket of fog lay over the town.
▪ a bank of fog ( also a fog bank ) (=a large mass of fog)
As we approached the coast, we ran into a dense bank of fog.
▪ patches of fog (=fog that forms in some places but not in others)
Patches of fog are expected later today.
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THESAURUS
▪ cloud noun [uncountable and countable] a white or grey mass in the sky that forms from very small drops of water:
The storm was still a way off but black clouds were gathering.
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Thick cloud obscured the top of the hill.
▪ fog noun [uncountable and countable] very thick cloud near the ground which is difficult to see through:
The cars crashed into each other in thick fog.
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The fog had lifted (=disappeared) slightly.
▪ mist noun [uncountable and countable] light cloud near the ground that makes it difficult for you to see very far. Mist is usually not as thick as fog . You often get mist near areas of water or mountains:
The morning mist was lifting and the sun was coming up.
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A grey mist hung over the water.
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The hills were shrouded in mist (=surrounded by mist) .
▪ haze noun [singular, uncountable] smoke, dust, or mist in the air which is difficult to see through:
He saw the horses coming towards him through a haze of dust.
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The road shimmered in the heat haze.
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A pale blue haze hung over the far-off mountains.
▪ smog noun [uncountable and countable] dirty air that looks like a mixture of smoke and fog, caused by smoke from cars and factories in cities:
The city is covered in smog for much of the year.
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A smog warning was issued for parts of Southern Oregon.
▪ thundercloud noun [countable] a large dark cloud that you see before or during a storm:
He watched the thunderclouds roll across the valley.
▪ vapour trail British English , vapor trail American English noun [countable] the white line that is left in the sky by a plane:
High overhead, a jet left its vapour trail across the blue sky.
II. fog 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle fogged , present participle fogging )
1 . [intransitive and transitive] ( also fog up ) if something made of glass fogs or becomes fogged, it becomes covered in small drops of water that make it difficult to see through SYN mist up , steamed up :
The windscreen had fogged up.
2 . [transitive] to make something less clear SYN cloud