log
Plurallogs
Plurallogs
- 1A thick piece of a tree trunk or big branch, used for building or burning.
He threw another log on the fire to keep us warm.
The walls of the cabin were built from thick pine logs.
Note
- 2A written record of what happens and when, like on a ship or a computer.
Like a diary, but for events and facts instead of feelings.
The nurse keeps a log of when each patient takes medicine.
Truck drivers must keep logs of their hours on the road.
UsageYou keep a log of things. You write in a log.
- 3
- 4To cut down trees and cut them up for wood.
They logged the whole forest in two years.
The men log in the woods all winter.
UsageThe work is called logging.
- 5The power a base number, such as 10, must be raised to in order to give another number.
Like counting the steps on a staircase where each step makes the number ten times bigger.
The log of 100 is 2, because 10 times 10 is 100.
Our teacher showed us how to find logs with a calculator.
UsageSay the log of a number.
Similarlogarithm
Note
- 6
- 7To travel a certain distance or at a certain speed, or spend a certain time, as shown in a record.
Like writing down how far you walked each day in a notebook.
The pilot logged three hundred miles before lunch.
We log about fifty miles a day on this trip.
UsageUsed with amounts: log miles, log hours.
Similarclock, cover, accumulate
- 8To leave an online game by signing out.
We lost the match because our best player chose to log halfway through.
He logged as soon as he lost the match.
UsageCombat log means to leave during a fight so your character does not die.
Similarquit, leave, disconnect, exit
Oppositejoin
Note
Less common meanings
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12A change by a factor of ten, counted as one step on a base-10 scale.
Like climbing stairs where each step makes you ten times higher than the last.
The treatment cut the bacteria by three logs.
A single log on this scale means ten times as much.
UsageUsed with numbers: a 3-log drop, up by 2 logs.
Note
- 13A wooden float that sailors drop into the sea to measure how fast a ship is moving.
Like dropping a stick in a river to see how fast the water carries it away.
The sailor tossed the log overboard to check the ship's speed.
Old ships used a log tied to a long knotted rope.
Note
- 14To sway gently back and forth, the way something rocks.
- 15A very stupid person who seems slow to understand things.
- 16A long, heavy surfboard used for slow, smooth rides.
- 17A length used to measure timber, equal to sixteen feet.
- 18A rude slang word for the penis.
- 19A heavy block fixed near the end of a lifting rope to keep the rope from slipping through the pulley wheel.
- 20An old Hebrew measure of liquid, equal to about a third of a liter.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
It comes from Middle English logge, of unknown origin, but likely from Old Norse lóg meaning "felled tree," from a word meaning "to lie."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Log comes from Middle English logge. en.wiktionary.org
- Its earlier origin is unknown or uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
- It probably derives from Old Norse lóg, meaning “felled tree.” en.wiktionary.org
- The proposed Old Norse source derives from a word meaning “to lie.” en.wiktionary.org
A short form of logbook, which comes from log (sense 1) plus book. It goes back to a wooden float used to measure a ship's speed.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Log is a shortened form of logbook. en.wiktionary.org
- Logbook is formed from log in its wood-related sense plus book. en.wiktionary.org
- The origin refers to a wooden float used to measure a ship's speed. en.wiktionary.org
A shortening of "log out," which comes from etymology 2.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Log is a shortening of log out. en.wiktionary.org
- Log out derives from log under etymology 2. en.wiktionary.org
A short form of logarithm.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Log is a short form of logarithm. en.wiktionary.org