lag

¹

[lag]

verb (used without object)

lagged, lagging 

1. to fail to maintain a desired pace or to keep up; fall or stay behind.

   After five minutes of hard running, some of them began to lag.

   Synonyms: linger, loiter
   Antonyms: hasten

2. to move or develop slowly, as toward a goal or objective, or in relation to an associated factor (often followed bybehind ).

   to lag behind in production.

3. to delay or fail in reaching full development.

   The factory lags regularly in making its quota.

4. to hang back; linger; delay.

   The old friends lagged because they wanted to talk some more.

5. to decrease, wane, or flag gradually, as in intensity.

   Interest lagged as the meeting went on.

6. (in video games) to experience a delay between player input or game signals and the in-game manifestation of that action, often due to high network latency.

   I’m lagging so hard that enemies are killing me before I can even attack them.

7. Marbles.,  to throw one's shooting marble toward a line lag line on the ground in order to decide on the order of play.

8. Billiards, Pool.,  string.

verb (used with object)

lagged, lagging 

1. to fail to keep up with.

   The industry still lags the national economy.

2. Obsolete.,  to cause to lag.

noun

1. a lagging or falling behind; retardation.

   Synonyms: slowdown

2. a person who lags behind, is the last to arrive, etc.

3. an interval or lapse of time.

   There was a developmental lag in the diffusion of ideas.

4. Digital Technology.

   1. Also called display lag. the delay between a signal input and its display on a screen, as a high-definition television screen or LCD, due to latency in digital data conversion.

   2. Also called input lag. (in video games) a display lag between player input or game signals and the in-game manifestation of that action, due to differences in display refresh rate or controller input.

      To make a competitive speed run, your best display option for minimal lag is still a CRT.

   3. Also called network lag. (in video games) such a display lag due to high network latency.

      If you have an old computer or slow connection, lag makes multiplayer gameplay difficult.

5. Mechanics.,  the amount of retardation of some motion.

6. Electricity.,  the retardation of one alternating quantity, as current, with respect to another related alternating quantity, as voltage, often expressed in degrees.

7. Marbles, Billiards, Pool.,  the act of lagging.

lag

²

[lag]

verb (used with object)

lagged, lagging 

1. to send to penal servitude; imprison

noun

1. a convict or ex-convict.

2. a period or term of penal servitude; prison sentence.

lag

³

[lag]

noun

1. one of the staves or strips that form the periphery of a wooden drum, the casing of a steam cylinder, or the like.

2. Masonry.,  a crosspiece between ribs in a centering.

verb (used with object)

lagged, lagging 

1. to line or cover (an excavation) with lagging.

2. to cover with insulation, as a steam boiler, to prevent radiation of heat.

lag

¹

/ læɡ /

verb

1. (often foll by behind) to hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc

2. to fall away in strength or intensity

3. to determine an order of play in certain games, as by rolling marbles towards a line or, in billiards, hitting cue balls up the table against the top cushion in an attempt to bring them back close to the headrail

noun

1. the act or state of slowing down or falling behind

2. the interval of time between two events, esp between an action and its effect

3. an act of lagging in a game, such as billiards

lag

²

/ læɡ /

noun

1. a convict or ex-convict (esp in the phrase old lag )

2. a term of imprisonment

verb

1. (tr) to arrest or put in prison

lag

³

/ læɡ /

verb

1. (tr) to cover (a pipe, cylinder, etc) with lagging to prevent loss of heat

noun

1. the insulating casing of a steam cylinder, boiler, etc; lagging

2. a stave or lath

Word History and Origins

Origin of lag¹

First recorded in 1500–50; origin uncertain, probably from Scandinavian: compare Middle Danish lakke, Norwegian lagga “to go slowly”

Origin of lag²

First recorded in 1565–75; origin uncertain

Origin of lag³

First recorded in 1655–60; from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse lǫgg “rim of a barrel,” Swedish lagg “stave”

Word History and Origins

Origin of lag¹

C16: of obscure origin

Origin of lag²

C19: of unknown origin

Origin of lag³

C17: of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish lagg stave

Example Sentences

What began as a narrow, tech-driven rally has steadily broadened in 2025, pulling in sectors and stocks that had previously lagged behind or missed out entirely.

Read more on MarketWatch

In some cases, they have attributed reported health-effects from fume exposure to factors including hyperventilation, jet lag, psychological stress, mass hysteria and malingering.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Often, the Fed minutes—released with a three-week lag—can be stale because intervening economic data releases have shed new light on the outlook in ways that resolve divisions over the appropriate path for policy.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The point is, this celebration of switches is a choice, an effort to stay ahead, or else lag safely behind, the growing public backlash against touchscreen-dominated car interiors.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

While Europe’s venture-capital scene has grown in recent years, it still lags behind the U.S.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• decrease 
• diminish 
• fail 
• fall off 
• falter 
• slacken 
• slow 
• trail 
• wane