lagging

¹

[lag-ing]

noun

1. the act of falling or staying behind.

adjective

1. lingering; loitering; slow and dragging.

   lagging steps.

lagging

²

[lag-ing]

noun

1. the act of covering a boiler, oil tank, etc., with heat-insulating material.

2. the covering formed.

3. the material used.

4. a number of boards or the like joined together side by side to line an excavation.

5. Masonry.,  a number of lags, taken as a whole.

lagging

/ ˈlæɡɪŋ /

noun

1. insulating material wrapped around pipes, boilers, etc, or laid in a roof loft, to prevent loss of heat

2. the act or process of applying lagging

3. a wooden frame used to support an arch during construction

Other Word Forms

• laggingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of lagging¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; lag ¹ + -ing ¹, -ing ² ( def. )

Origin of lagging²

First recorded in 1850–55; lag ³ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Plus, the company was seen as lagging on artificial intelligence.

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Amazon’s stock had risen about 1% this year as of Thursday’s close, lagging far behind its Big Tech peers and the S&P 500, which is up about 16%.

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If the equal-weight versions are seriously lagging, it means new market highs are being driven by a relatively few large-cap stocks — which would be a sign of poor internals.

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Women’s pay growth is lagging behind men’s, according to recent data.

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The reason greater dispersion doesn’t lead to more successful stock picking is that, in addition to increasing the number of stocks beating the market, it also increases the number that are lagging.

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Related Words

• underdeveloped