chug away

Verb

chug away (third-person singular simple present chugs away, present participle chugging away, simple past and past participle chugged away)

1. To move away at a slow, steady pace, especially if making chugging noises.
   • Locked in such musings as her train chugged away from New York City, the fourteen-year-old suddenly felt overwhelmed with longing for her own family.2004, J. Barbara Alvord, Through Different Eyes: An Immigrant's Heroic Journey, 1889-1909, page 169
   • The crowd began to sing “Abide With Me”, troops and families sang, young and old, their hearts breaking, hankies waving as the big ship chugged away from the dock.2013, Sandra Shakespeare, Mary's Boys, page 90
2. To operate continuously, especially if making a low mechanical noise.
   • Next to the baseball bats in the garage, a spare refrigerator cooled cases of beer and soda, and a commercial-grade icemaker chugged away.2004, Jim Collins, The Last Best League
   • The mayor opened a chest freezer that chugged away in one corner and removed several cans of orange soda, one at a time, and handed them to the visitors.2013, Vicki Wootton, At War with Terror, page 408
3. (broadly) To work at something in a steady, dogged manner.
   • You mustn't let the tuna rest, if you aim to ever gaff him alongside. You chug away, lifting with all your strength. Up comes the fish, sulkily at first, fighting every foot.1901 February, Maximilian Foster, “The Greatest Game Fishing”, in Munsey's Magazine, volume 24, number 5, page 662
   • Two years previously, they had won the FA Cup and finished second in the League. They bought me to replace Reg Ryan, a roly-poly midfielder who chugged and chugged away, because they needed someone with fresher legs.2006, Bobby Robson, Paul Hayward, Bobby Robson: Farewell but not Goodbye
4. To drink down steadily in large gulps.
   • Remember kosher wine gets you just as drunk as the nonkosher stuff; so chug away, fellow Jews, chug away.2010, Carin Davis, Life, Love, Lox: Real-World Advice for the Modern Jewish Girl
   • The man chugged away on his bottle.2015, Xavier Cockroachal Damon, Love Is What Will Make an Immortal Die