a drag

1. A tedious experience, a bore, as in After several thousand times, signing your autograph can be a drag. This seemingly modern term was army slang during the Civil War. The allusion probably is to drag as something that impedes progress. [Colloquial; mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Big picture: The economy has expanded faster than expected this year even amid the worst trade wars in decades, but companies say higher tariffs are still a drag on the economy.

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This includes a drag of roughly one percentage point tied to tariffs that was also factored into the previous outlook, the company said.

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That purchase has paid off big time for Meta, which has also navigated the transition to new content forms, like Reels, that were initially a drag on revenue.

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From Jinkx Monsoon, a drag queen and actress who played Mary earlier this year, Krakowski learned to treat the role almost as if she were singing the whole time, with “that quality of support and of vocal breath.”

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Builders tried to explain that higher interest rates, economic uncertainty and local regulations were a drag on housing activity.

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