logs

IPA/lˈɒɡz/
KK[lˈɔɡz]IPA/lˈɔːɡz/

logs — noun

1. separate heavy pieces of a tree trunk or large branch after the tree has been cu

1.nounA2
Definition

separate heavy pieces of a tree trunk or large branch after the tree has been cut down

Example

We stacked the oak logs beside the shed before the storm arrived.

collocation: stack the logs beside [place]

Nadia used two heavy logs to stop the trailer rolling downhill.

Common collocations
  • oak logs
  • wet logs
  • stack the logs
  • split the logs
  • roll the logs
Synonyms
  • timber

    broader; can mean wood prepared for building, not just separate pieces

  • firewood

    narrower; wood kept specifically for burning

  • trunks

    suggests larger main sections of a tree rather than smaller cut lengths

Grammar Patterns

stack the logs

burn the logs

roll the logs

Usage Note

Usually refers to several separate pieces of cut wood. One piece is a log, while logs often appear in contexts involving fires, building materials, or obstacles on the ground.

Common Mistakes

We carried some woods into the house for the fire.
We carried some logs into the house for the fire.
'logs' means separate cut pieces, not wood as a material.

2. ordered written or digital records that show what happened over time, on a journ

2.nounB1
Definition

ordered written or digital records that show what happened over time, on a journey, or inside a system

Example

The security logs showed three failed attempts to open the server room.

collocation: security logs showed [event]

Travel logs from the school trip helped Mina finish her history project.

Common collocations
  • security logs
  • flight logs
  • chat logs
  • travel logs
  • check the logs
Synonyms
  • records

    broader; any stored information, not always time-ordered

  • journals

    often more personal or reflective than technical logs

  • registers

    more official; often a formal list rather than a running history

Grammar Patterns

logs of activity

check the logs

keep logs

Usage Note

Logs usually present events in time order. This sense is common in travel, computing, transport, and official monitoring, where the sequence of events matters.

Common Mistakes

The school keeps records, not logs, of each student's grades.
The school keeps records of each student's grades.
'logs' stresses time-ordered entries rather than general stored information.

3. short for logarithms, especially when people are solving maths problems or compa

3.nounC1
Definition

short for logarithms, especially when people are solving maths problems or comparing large numbers

Example

The students used logs to compare how quickly the two curves rose.

logs = short form of logarithms

Without logs, the graph would stretch too much near the largest values.

Common collocations
  • use logs
  • common logs
  • natural logs
  • table of logs
Synonyms
  • logarithms

    the full and more formal mathematical term

Grammar Patterns

use logs

look up the logs

logs of numbers

Usage Note

Mostly heard in maths lessons, textbooks, or exam talk. Outside that context, the full word logarithms is often clearer.

Common Mistakes

The table shows different logs of wood sizes.
The table shows different logs for the numbers.
in this sense, logs refers to logarithms, not pieces of wood.

logs — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

For noun sense 2, logs usually means entries arranged in time order, often so someone can trace what happened step by step. Record is broader and can refer to almost any stored information, even when time order is not important. Journal often sounds more personal or reflective, or it may name a ship's or traveler's daily notebook. Register is more official and usually suggests a formal list of names, visits, or transactions. History can mean a past sequence too, but it is wider and less tied to stored entries. You might check server logs after a problem, read a travel journal on a trip, or request school records from an office.

record ↗journal ↗register ↗history ↗

Etymology

ScandinavianMiddle EnglishEnglish

Logs is the plural noun or the third-person singular verb form of log. The English word log first meant a chunk of cut wood and probably came from a Scandinavian source related to timber. Later, sailors used a log line to measure a ship's movement, and that idea helped log develop the sense of a written record of progress. From there, English extended the word to records kept over time and to verbs meaning either cut trees for wood or enter information into a record.