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peat bog

peat bog

1 6.3
A wet, spongy area of land made of dead plants used as fuel
  • noun
  • /pit bɔg/
translation icon : turbera
  • The garden's nutrient-rich soil, a mix of earth and peat bog, was ideal for growing vibrant flowers.
  • Danish peat bog
  • found in a peat bog

It's mountains, it's lakes, it's countryside, there's peat bogs.

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Examples

  • His work had revealed part of a human body, a shoulder, the skin dark, shrunken, and leathery from having been held for who knew how long in the peat bog.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Studies of peat bogs have shown centennial and decadal averages much higher than the millennial averages.

    Blog text (9)
  • The ground was soft, spongy: peat bog, covered with moss.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • As I look out over the bleak, flat peat bogs, McHardy describes how the landscape of Lewis has changed over time.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Of course, if a dinosaur was frozen, preserved in a peat bog, or mummified in a desert environment, then its DNA might be recoverable.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • From the road, a coping of peat bog oozed away into the heart of Caithness, a cakey mush of grasses and black earth.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Pamfrey Woof Howe Hob was a book about the stranded Hefn mummified in a Yorkshire peat bog.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The hiker carefully stepped over the soft ground, realizing he was walking on a peat bog filled with dark, spongy moss.

  • In the ancient peat bog of Ireland, archaeologists discovered well-preserved artifacts from centuries ago.

Synonyms

bog
vspeat bog
33 4.9

A wet, soft area of ground with dead plants

considers it specifically as a source of fuel from accumulated plant material
peatland
vspeat bog
1 5.8

An area of wet land with a thick layer of old plant material that holds water

emphasizes its use as a fuel source rather than ecological value
bogland
vspeat bog
  • UK
6.1

Wet, spongy land with moss and peat where plants and animals live

focuses on the peat accumulation and its use as fuel rather than general habitat

How Wet

peat bog
1 6.3
marsh
64 2.6
damp
11 1.0
dry land
23 1.0

Surface Forms

peat bog singular
peat bogs plural

Morphology

peat + bog

The phrase 'peat bog' is directly compositional: it denotes a bog (damp, peat-accumulating wetland) characterized by peat. Because both constituents contribute their ordinary meanings and form a simple noun–noun compound, a B1 learner who knows 'peat' and 'bog' can readily infer the combined meaning. This kind of transparent, descriptive compound is common across languages and therefore predictable to learners.

Etymology

Peat bog is the name for a wet, spongy place called a bog where old plants build up and slowly change into peat. People cut and dry the peat to use as 'fuel', so the name refers to both the wet ground and the material used for heat.