fog

fog

I

fog¹ /fɒɡ $ fɑːɡ, fɒːɡ/ noun1. [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
     

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.
     

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. | 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. | 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. | A grey mist hung over the water. | 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. | The road shimmered in the heat haze. | 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. | 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

fog² 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