laggard

American  

[lag-erd] / ˈlæg ərd /

noun

1. a person or thing that lags; lingerer; loiterer.

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adjective

1. moving, developing, or responding slowly; sluggish; dilatory; backward.

laggard British  

/ ˈlæɡəd /

noun

1. a person who lags behind

2. a dawdler or straggler

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adjective

1. rare sluggish, slow, or dawdling

Other Word Forms

• laggardly
  adverb
• laggardness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of laggard

First recorded in 1695–1705; lag ¹ + -ard

Explanation

Hey pokey! Yeah you, Mr. Slow Pants. Quit your dawdling! This is no time to be a laggard, or someone who's always lagging behind. So who was the bigger laggard — the tortoise or the hare? Well that turtle sure was slow moving, but at least he continued at a steady pace. The hare was speedy, but took more time than necessary, goofing around and falling behind. It's a tough call, and one that the literary community has totally been dragging their feet on. What a bunch of laggards!

Example Sentences

Laggard states that lack such restrictions should consider emergency policies to cover desperate people, up to and including temporary state-level eviction moratoriums, until state officials prove they can effectively distribute federal money.

From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2021

This strategy was little to the taste of the Roman populace, who nicknamed Fabius Cunctator, "the Laggard."

From Early European History by Webster, Hutton

Laggard day came, with a dusky sky, obscured by heavy clouds and the rain still pouring.

From The Keepers of the Trail A Story of the Great Woods by Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)

I am going to write a poem about a Laggard Lover.

From Mistress Anne by Wilson, F. Vaux (Francis Vaux)

Their son was Jon, father of Erlend the Laggard, the father of Archbishop Egstein.

From Laxdæla Saga Translated from the Icelandic by Press, Muriel A.C.