one of a series of decorative scallops or foliations along the edge of a garment, cloth, etc.
Scot. daglock.
short for daglock
informal to hurry up
a character; eccentric
a person who is untidily dressed
a person with a good sense of humour
1350–1400; Middle English dagge < ?; compare Old French dague dagger
First recorded in 1885–90; origin uncertain
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The worker stabbed the loamy soil with a hoe dag, dropped in a delicate sequoia seedling and tamped the dirt tight around it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2023
I’m ‘a get a scholarship to King’s College/ I prob’ly shouldn’t brag, but dag/ I amaze and astonish.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2016
Peter Ustinov, playing an unmarried remittance man who has to beat the girls off with a waddy, makes a comical old dag.
From Time Magazine Archive
“I don’t dwell on it too much because I’m not in a negative position. But you do say, ‘Well, dag, man, I should have done this or that.’
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
He bade us goeden dag, or farewell, cracked his long whip, and drove away, leaving us to our reflections.
From Six Months at the Cape by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
Of more than 200 films shown during the 10-day festival, 22 will compete for the coveted Golden Bear, which was won last year by the drama "Dreams" from Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
Dag Encke, the zoo's director, said the decision came after "yearslong consideration", and that the culling of animals can be a "legitimate last resort to preserve the population".
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2025
North Dakota Gov. Dag Borgheim also launched his presidential campaign this week.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2023
As the second secretary-general of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, understood that.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
Dag, I’m thinking, it wasn’t like Char was ripping out the sink.
From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake
Today he wore flashing cloth-of-silver, with dagged sleeves so long the ends of them pooled on the floor.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Her long dagged sleeves showed a lining of gold satin.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
These welts were "embroidered, indented, waved, furred, chisel-punched, dagged," as well as turreted.
From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse
I never dagged my petticoats in my life, and I've no opinion o' that sort o' religion.'
From Scenes of Clerical Life by Eliot, George
The full skirts sweep on the ground, which is touched by the last jags of the vast sleeves, whose openings, wide as a woman’s skirts, are dagged like the edges of vine or oak leaves.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various
He may not be able to put it in words, but easterly haars, chilling rimes, drizzling mists, dagging fogs, and soddening rains speak eloquently to him of the meaning of climate.
From Meteorology or Weather Explained by M'Pherson, J. G.
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.
