laggard
Americannoun
adjective
noun
-
a person who lags behind
-
a dawdler or straggler
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of laggard
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!
Vocabulary lists containing laggard
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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Languor Management: Synonyms for "Lazy"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The entire Chinese internet sector is gaining, likely due to portfolio rebalancing from the outperforming AI hardware sectors into laggard segments, said Jialong Shi at Nomura.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Microsoft has been the main laggard, while Tesla and Meta have also struggled.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
It means you are a capitalist wallflower, a laggard with a serious character flaw.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
For decades, Canada was seen as a global laggard in defence funding, and just two years ago, recruitment was so dire that a former defence minister warned the armed forces were in a "death spiral".
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
On the last three moves, Bull had swaggered among the movers shouting out commands as though they were laggard corporals in need of KP.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
