flag

¹ American  

[flag] / flæg /

noun

1. 

   a piece of cloth, varying in size, shape, color, and design, usually attached at one edge to a staff or cord, and used as the symbol of a nation, state, or organization, as a means of signaling, etc.; ensign; standard; banner; pennant.

2. Ornithology. the tuft of long feathers on the legs of falcons and most hawks; the lengthened feathers on the crus or tibia.

3. Hunting. the tail of a deer or of a setter dog.

4. Journalism.

   1. the nameplate of a newspaper.

   2. masthead.

   3. the name of a newspaper as printed on the editorial page.

5. a tab or tag attached to a page, file card, etc., to mark it for attention.

6. Music. hook.

7. Movies, Television. a small gobo.

8. Usually flags the ends of the bristles of a brush, especially a paintbrush, when split.

9. Computers. a symbol, value, or other means of identifying data of interest, or of informing later parts of a program what conditions earlier parts have encountered.

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verb (used with object)

flagged, flagging

1. to place a flag or flags over or on; decorate with flags.

2. to signal or warn (a person, automobile, etc.) with or as if with a flag (sometimes followed bydown ).

   to flag a taxi; to flag down a passing car.

3. to communicate (information) by or as if by a flag.

4. to decoy, as game, by waving a flag or the like to excite attention or curiosity.

5. to mark (a page in a book, file card, etc.) for attention, as by attaching protruding tabs.

6. (of a brush) to split the ends of the bristles.

idioms

1. strike the flag, Also strike one's flag.

   1. to relinquish command, as of a ship.

   2. to submit or surrender.

      His financial situation is growing worse, but he's not ready to strike the flag.

flag ² American  

[flag] / flæg /

noun

1. any of various plants with long, sword-shaped leaves, as the sweet flag.

2. blue flag.

3. the long, slender leaf of such a plant or of a cereal.

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flag ³ American  

[flag] / flæg /

verb (used without object)

flagged, flagging

1. to fall off in vigor, energy, activity, interest, etc..

   Public enthusiasm flagged when the team kept losing.

   Synonyms:

   wane, sag, slump, wilt, dwindle

2. to hang loosely or limply; droop.

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flag ⁴ American  

[flag] / flæg /

noun

1. flagstone.

2. flags, flagstone.

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verb (used with object)

flagged, flagging

1. to pave with flagstones.

flag ¹ British  

/ flæɡ /

noun

1. a piece of cloth, esp bunting, often attached to a pole or staff, decorated with a design and used as an emblem, symbol, or standard or as a means of signalling

2. a small paper flag, emblem, or sticker sold on flag days

3. computing an indicator, that may be set or unset, used to indicate a condition or to stimulate a particular reaction in the execution of a computer program

4. informal short for flag officer flagship

5. journalism another name for masthead

6. the fringe of long hair, tapering towards the tip, on the underside of the tail of certain breeds of dog, such as setters

7. the conspicuously marked tail of a deer

8. a less common name for bookmark

9. the part of a taximeter that is raised when a taxi is for hire

10. the pennant-shaped pattern that is formed when a price fluctuation is plotted on a chart, interrupting the steady rise or fall that precedes and then follows it

11. (in Victoria, Australia) the Australian Rules premiership

12. to represent or show support for one's country, an organization, etc

13. 1. to assert a claim, as to a territory or stretch of water, by military presence

    2. informal to be present; make an appearance

14. 1. to relinquish command, esp of a ship

    2. to submit or surrender

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verb

1. to decorate or mark with a flag or flags

2. (often foll by down) to warn or signal (a vehicle) to stop

3. to send or communicate (messages, information, etc) by flag

4. to decoy (game or wild animals) by waving a flag or similar object so as to attract their attention

5. to mark (a page in a book, card, etc) for attention by attaching a small tab or flag

6. to draw attention to (something)

7. to consider unimportant; brush aside

flag ² British  

/ flæɡ /

verb

1. to hang down; become limp; droop

2. to decline in strength or vigour; become weak or tired

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flag ³ British  

/ flæɡ /

noun

1. any of various plants that have long swordlike leaves, esp the iris Iris pseudacorus ( yellow flag )

2. the leaf of any such plant

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flag ⁴ British  

/ flæɡ /

noun

1. short for flagstone

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verb

1. (tr) to furnish (a floor) with flagstones

Other Word Forms

• flagger
  noun
• flagless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of flag¹

First recorded in 1475–85; perhaps blend of flap (noun) and fag ² (noun) in obsolete sense “flap”

Origin of flag²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flagge

Origin of flag³

First recorded in 1535–45; perhaps blend of of flap (verb) and fag ² (verb) in obsolete sense “to droop”. See flag ¹

Origin of flag⁴

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English flagge “piece of sod”; akin to Old Norse flaga “slab”

Explanation

A flag is a piece of cloth that represents a country, group, or institution. If you're particularly proud of your Irish heritage, you might fly an Irish flag in your front yard. A real flag enthusiast might fly the American flag, their state flag, their city's flag, and the flag of their parents' birth countries. There are also flags used for signaling on ships at sea and during races and sporting events, and flags that represent armies or advertise products. When flag is used as a verb, it means "to lose energy or enthusiasm." When students start to flag in the afternoon, they tend to take a quick nap — sitting up at their desks.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flag flagged flagging

The FIA system automatically disables overtake mode when there is a red flag.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The national flag carrier confirmed the death of the plane's captain, expressing "profound sadness" and citing an "incident" at King Khalid International Airport.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The problem involved the settings being different before and after a red flag caused by a crash for Sergio Perez's Cadillac and left drivers complaining of reduced power.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The first red flag was transactions with an Iranian money changer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Yes. That flag should have been taken down long ago. And I’m here to help make that happen in any way I can.”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Other insurance fraud cases flagged by the ABI include someone who staged car crashes with people they met online and a complex travel insurance scam involving multiple fake identities and documents.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

But if Oman had formally pulled Hammami’s license over its concerns, it likely would have been flagged to the U.A.E., people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

On Sunday, they were flagged eight times for 100 yards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

PIJ said it was not clear who had flagged the matter to the ACB and it had not seen the complaint or the alleged intelligence itself.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

The floor was flagged, and strewn with fresh green rushes.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

However, while UBS’s index is flagging extreme market vulnerability, the strategists warn that the catalyst is not certain and that they first need to determine what it will or will not be.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

Analysts also questioned whether Walmart's income could continue to grow despite flagging sales.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Her efforts led the antivirus software Kaspersky to begin flagging the tools known as stalkerware as a privacy threat to its customers instead of labeling it as benign.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Percentage of reports the Treasury Department received flagging transactions tied to suspected human trafficking were filed by money-services businesses, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said in an alert published Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

With his flagging strength, he fought to raise the blade again.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

Related Words

• abate
• deteriorate
• ebb
• fade
• languish
• sag
• wane