drag

[ drag ]

/ dræg /

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See synonyms for: drag / dragged / dragging on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), dragged, drag·ging.

to draw with force, effort, or difficulty; pull heavily or slowly along; haul; trail: They dragged the carpet out of the house.

to search with a drag, grapnel, or the like: They dragged the lake for the body of the missing man.

to level and smooth (land) with a drag or harrow.

to introduce; inject; insert: He drags his honorary degree into every discussion.

to protract (something) or pass (time) tediously or painfully (often followed by out or on): They dragged the discussion out for three hours.

to pull (a graphical image) from one place to another on a computer display screen, especially by using a mouse.

verb (used without object), dragged, drag·ging.

to be drawn or hauled along.

to trail on the ground.

to move heavily or with effort.

to proceed or pass with tedious slowness: The parade dragged by endlessly.

to feel listless or apathetic; move listlessly or apathetically (often followed by around): This heat wave has everyone dragging around.

to lag behind.

to use a drag or grapnel; dredge.

to take part in a drag race.

to take a puff: to drag on a cigarette.

noun

Nautical.

a designed increase of draft toward the stern of a vessel.
resistance to the movement of a hull through the water.
any of a number of weights dragged cumulatively by a vessel sliding down ways to check its speed.
any object dragged in the water, as a sea anchor.
any device for dragging the bottom of a body of water to recover or detect objects.

Agriculture. a heavy wooden or steel frame drawn over the ground to smooth it.

Slang. someone or something tedious; a bore: It's a drag having to read this old novel.

a stout sledge or sled.

Aeronautics. the aerodynamic force exerted on an airfoil, airplane, or other aerodynamic body that tends to reduce its forward motion.

a four-horse sporting and passenger coach with seats inside and on top.

a metal shoe to receive a wheel of heavy wagons and serve as a brake on steep grades.

something that retards progress.

an act of dragging.

slow, laborious movement or procedure; retardation.

a puff or inhalation on a cigarette, pipe, etc.

Hunting.

the scent left by a fox or other animal.
something, as aniseed, dragged over the ground to leave an artificial scent.
Also called drag hunt. a hunt, especially a fox hunt, in which the hounds follow an artificial scent.

Angling.

a brake on a fishing reel.
the sideways pull on a fishline, as caused by a crosscurrent.

clothing, makeup, and accessories typically associated with one sex when worn by a person of a different sex: a Mardi Gras ball at which many of the dancers were in drag.

clothing characteristic of a particular occupation or milieu: Two guests showed up in gangster drag.

Also called comb. Masonry. a steel plate with a serrated edge for dressing a stone surface.

Metallurgy. the lower part of a flask.Compare cope² (def. 5).

Slang. influence: He claims he has drag with his senator.

Slang. a girl or woman that one is escorting; date.

Informal. a street or thoroughfare, especially a main street of a town or city.

a drag race.

Eastern New England. a sledge, as for carrying stones from a field.

adjective

marked by or involving the wearing of clothing, makeup, and accessories typically associated with a different sex: They’re so talented at drag makeup.

OTHER WORDS FOR drag

12 linger, loiter.

See synonyms for drag on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about drag

drag one's feet / heels, to act with reluctance; delay: The committee is dragging its feet coming to a decision.

Origin of drag

First recorded in 1350–1400; 1920–25 for def. 18; Middle English; both noun and verb probably from Middle Low German dragge “grapnel,” draggen “to dredge,” derivative of drag- draw; defs. 29, 30, 38 are obscurely related to other senses and perhaps a distinct word of independent origin

synonym study for drag

1. See draw.

OTHER WORDS FROM drag

outdrag, verb (used with object), out·dragged, out·drag·ging.

Words nearby drag

draftsman, draftsperson, draftswoman, draft tube, drafty, drag, drag bunt, drag chain, drag coefficient, drag down, dragée

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use drag in a sentence

Though the vast majority of stocks––including beaten down financials and airlines––proved resilient over that period, their numbers and strength weren’t nearly sufficient to offset the drag from the falling tech titans.
Will tech stocks stumble or slide? What the fundamentals tell us|Shawn Tully|September 16, 2020|Fortune
How to vote in your stateBut the president’s ratings overall and on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic are in negative territory and are a drag on his candidacy.
Post-ABC Wisconsin poll shows Biden holding narrow edge over Trump|Dan Balz, Emily Guskin|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
If the poll result gets dragged out, or, gasp, gets contested, that will add all kinds of volatility to the markets.
Is M&A back? Investors hope so, and that’s lifting global stocks|Bernhard Warner|September 15, 2020|Fortune
For smaller kids, try dragging a mattress out of the bedroom, propping it against a couch, and encouraging your little ones to scramble to the “peak” at the top.
A 15-Week Exercise Plan for Kids and Families|Krista Langlois|September 12, 2020|Outside Online

What had never been done was mobilizing drag artists all over the country in service of getting out the vote.
Virtual Drag Out the Vote event features ‘Drag Race’ alum|Steph Purifoy|September 11, 2020|Washington Blade
This breach is an extraordinary emotional drag on the exhausted population.
In One Corner of Syria, Christmas Spirit Somehow Manages to Survive|Peter Schwartzstein|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Is this your first time dressing in drag, or have you ever had an Ed Wood moment?
Michael C. Hall on Going Drag for ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ and Exorcising ‘Dexter’|Marlow Stern|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I went to dinner with Christian and he talked about Guitar Drag and I suddenly realized I was going to write about it.
Greil Marcus Talks About Trying to Unlock Rock and Roll in 10 Songs|Allen Barra|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What it did do was drag him down, as though my shot had dropped him into the dunk tank at the state fair.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nicki Minaj popularized “yaaasssss” with her song “Yasss Bish” and she claims the pronunciation has roots in drag-queen culture.
Feminist, Bae, Turnt: Time’s ‘Worst Words’ List Is Sexist and Racist|Samantha Allen|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We, Watsons, are waiting for him to step forward and drag various dark mysteries into the light of day.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
Alcee Arobin and Mrs. Highcamp called for her one bright afternoon in Arobin's drag.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
He found such delight in playing that it was frequently necessary to drag him by force from the instrument.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
Frenziedly she caught at the heavy oaken table, and began to drag it across the room as Garnache had begged her.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
If you take hold of your dress on both sides, in that way, and drag it up so high, you will be set down as a raw country girl.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for drag

drag

/ (dræɡ) /

verb drags, dragging or dragged

to pull or be pulled with force, esp along the ground or other surface

(tr; often foll by away or from) to persuade to come away (from something attractive or interesting)he couldn't drag himself away from the shop

to trail or cause to trail on the ground

(tr) to move (oneself, one's feet, etc) with effort or difficultyhe drags himself out of bed at dawn

to linger behind

(often foll by on or out) to prolong or be prolonged tediously or unnecessarilyhis talk dragged on for hours

(tr foll by out) to pass (time) in discomfort, poverty, unhappiness, etche dragged out his few remaining years

(when intr, usually foll by for) to search (the bed of a river, canal, etc) with a dragnet or hookthey dragged the river for the body

(tr foll by out or from) to crush (clods) or level (a soil surface) by use of a drag

(of hounds) to follow (a fox or its trail) to the place where it has been lying

(intr) slang to draw (on a cigarette, pipe, etc)

computing to move (data) from one place to another on the screen by manipulating a mouse with its button held down

drag anchor (of a vessel) to move away from its mooring because the anchor has failed to hold

drag one's feet or drag one's heels informal to act with deliberate slowness

drag someone's name in the mud to disgrace or defame someone

noun

the act of dragging or the state of being dragged

an implement, such as a dragnet, dredge, etc, used for dragging

Also called: drag harrow a type of harrow consisting of heavy beams, often with spikes inserted, used to crush clods, level soil, or prepare seedbeds

a sporting coach with seats inside and out, usually drawn by four horses

a braking or retarding device, such as a metal piece fitted to the underside of the wheel of a horse-drawn vehicle

a person or thing that slows up progress

slow progress or movement

aeronautics the resistance to the motion of a body passing through a fluid, esp through air: applied to an aircraft in flight, it is the component of the resultant aerodynamic force measured parallel to the direction of air flow

the trail of scent left by a fox or other animal hunted with hounds

an artificial trail of a strong-smelling substance, sometimes including aniseed, drawn over the ground for hounds to follow

See drag hunt

angling unnatural movement imparted to a fly, esp a dry fly, by tension on the angler's line

informal a person or thing that is very tedious; boreexams are a drag

slang a car

short for drag race

slang

women's clothes worn by a man, usually by a transvestite (esp in the phrase in drag)
(as modifier)a drag club; drag show
clothes collectively

informal a draw on a cigarette, pipe, etc

US slang influence or persuasive power

mainly US slang a street or road

See also drag down, drag in, drag out of, drag up

Word Origin for drag

Old English dragan to draw; related to Swedish dragga

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for drag

drag

[ drăg ]

A force acting on a moving body, opposite in direction to the movement of the body, caused by the interaction of the body and the medium it moves through. The strength of drag usually depends on the velocity of the body.♦ Drag caused by buildup of pressure in front of the moving body and a decrease in pressure behind the body is called pressure drag. It is an important factor in the design of aerodynamically efficient shapes for cars and airplanes.♦ Drag caused by the viscosity of the medium as the molecules along the body's surface move through it is called skin drag or skin friction. It is an important factor in the design of efficient surface materials for cars, airplanes, boat hulls, skis, and swimsuits. Compare lift. See Note at aerodynamics.

Other Idioms and Phrases with drag

drag

In addition to the idioms beginning with drag

drag in
drag on
drag one's ass
drag one's feet
drag queen

also see:

a drag
in drag
look like something the cat dragged in
main drag
wild horses wouldn't drag me

drag

OTHER WORDS FOR drag

Idioms about drag

Origin of drag

synonym study for drag

OTHER WORDS FROM drag

Words nearby drag

Words related to drag

How to use drag in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drag

Word Origin for drag

Scientific definitions for drag

Other Idioms and Phrases with drag