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

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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”

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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 red, white and blue tricolor that was adopted as the national flag.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

If I’m being honest, the estrangement raised a red flag.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

Another photo showed the former English teacher, who is in his 70s, posing with unidentified people on a small plane, holding up an American flag with two members of the group.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

During the men's football gold medal ceremony, the South Korean flag was not raised properly.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Like now, the way she was marching ahead as if she were going into battle, one long peacock feather flying proudly from her prim dark bonnet like a flag.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

The government said it had flagged more than 100 cases ahead of Saturday’s protests, about half of which had resulted in account suspensions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Samuel has defended the video in which he flagged Harish's lack of credentials saying he was acting in the consumer interest.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

But the letters included allegations alone, no evidence or data verifying DHS’s claims, which Weber said she flagged and asked to see, to no avail.

From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2026

He also hinted at a possible ban on social media for children under 16, and flagged changes to the age of criminal responsibility.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

I flipped to the page Mrs. Castro had flagged “his best.”

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

Tanden has finished up her marathon day with an appearance on CNN; she sparred with Scott Jennings about Donald Trump’s flagging poll numbers.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

The Treasury’s action follows a 2024 cease-and-desist order that required Bank of America to strengthen its anti-money-laundering program and conduct tests of its systems for flagging suspicious transactions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

He ticked through a laundry list of Florida constituents – retirees, teachers, emergency workers, restaurant staff and local government employees, flagging that they need to be able to "make ends meet".

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Friday’s strong showing for stocks has helped to revive some of investors’ flagging optimism, hinting at further gains ahead in the fourth quarter, said Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026

They were flagging in the rays of the bright sun, winter sun shining in a pale cool sky though it was; their heads were down and their tongues lolling out.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

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