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 Japanese were occupiers, but they made concessions unlike anything the Dutch had offered—opening government positions to Indonesians and ultimately allowing displays of the Indonesian flag and performances of its national anthem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Look outside and you will see that the American flag continues to fly over New York, Texas, Michigan and other states with significant Muslim populations.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

However, I’m concerned that my card issuers might freeze or flag the cards when they suddenly see an extraordinary number of transactions.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Anthropologists have documented the Gogodala people of western Papua New Guinea singing Hebrew songs and hoisting the flag of Israel at tribal ceremonies.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The first is a fireworks GIF, the second is a wavering American flag.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

They flagged that consumers will get flexibility through a new leasing program as well as various trade-in offers.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

A Spanish police report leaked last week flagged "total permissiveness" by Moroccan security forces during the rush, saying their numbers at the Ceuta border were lower than usual and that some actively facilitated the crossings.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

In a promotional video, the AI agent flagged a flight that had dropped by $40 and asked if the user wanted the agent to book it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

That year, Hahn flagged the intersection to Caltrans seeking a fix.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Mtisha had some money and we flagged down a cab.

From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers

“Ballmer was the perfect deep-pocket partner to fund Catona’s flagging operations and lend legitimacy to Catona’s carbon credit business,” says the amended complaint viewed by The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 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

The BOJ has said it would keep tightening, with Ueda flagging September as a possible window.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

There’s little doubt that that reports of Situational Awareness getting blown out have helped revive investors’ confidence in the flagging AI trade, according to Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at Jones Trading.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Even the fittest of us were flagging now, and soon the hollows would catch up to us and we’d have to face them in the middle of the street.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

Related Words

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