fag

[ fag ]

/ fæg /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fag ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), fagged, fag·ging.

to tire or weary by labor; exhaust (often followed by out): The long climb fagged us out.

British. to require (a younger public-school pupil) to do menial chores.

Nautical. to fray or unlay the end of (a rope).

verb (used without object), fagged, fag·ging.

Chiefly British. to work until wearied; work hard: to fag away at French.

British Informal. to do menial chores for an older public-school pupil.

noun

Slang. a cigarette.

a fag end, as of cloth.

a rough or defective spot in a woven fabric; blemish; flaw.

Chiefly British. drudgery; toil.

British Informal. a younger pupil in a British public school required to perform certain menial tasks for, and submit to the hazing of, an older pupil.

a drudge.

Nearby words

faeroese, faery, faff, faffy, fafnir, fag, fag end, fag hag, fagaceous, faggi, faggot

Origin of fag

1425–75; late Middle English fagge broken thread in cloth, loose end (of obscure origin); sense development apparently: drooping end > to droop, tire > to make weary > drudgery, drudge (compare relationship of flag¹ to flag³); (def 6) a shortening of fag end (a butt, hence a cigarette)

Related forms

un·fagged, adjective

Definition for fag (2 of 2)

fag

[ fag ]

/ fæg /

Usage alert

The terms faggot and fag are both used with disparaging intent and are perceived as highly insulting. However, faggot (but not fag ) is sometimes used within the gay community as a positive term of self-reference.

noun Slang.

Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a male homosexual.

Offensive. a contemptible or dislikable person.

Origin of fag

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; by shortening

Related forms

fag·gish, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for fag (1 of 3)

fag

/ (fæɡ) /

noun

informal a boring or wearisome taskit's a fag having to walk all that way

British (esp formerly) a young public school boy who performs menial chores for an older boy or prefect

verb fags, fagging or fagged

(when tr, often foll by out) informal to become or cause to become exhausted by hard toil or work

(usually intr) British to do or cause to do menial chores in a public schoolBrown fags for Lee

Word Origin for fag

C18: of obscure origin

British Dictionary definitions for fag (2 of 3)

fag

/ (fæɡ) /

noun

British a slang word for cigarette

a fag end, as of cloth

Word Origin for fag

C16 (in the sense: something hanging loose, flap): of obscure origin

British Dictionary definitions for fag (3 of 3)

fag

/ (fæɡ) /

noun

slang, mainly US and Canadian short for faggot 2

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