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

It can analyze years of a patient’s history and flag risks in a way a physician can’t during a brief visit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

He’s there on your California driver’s license, on every state flag and on your UC Berkeley merch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“But if they think I’m going to give up, wave the white flag, they got me wrong.”

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

Zhang Xue wept with joy and furiously waved a Chinese flag as he watched his company's superbike scream across the finish line four seconds ahead of competitors in only its third world championship race.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

Recent research suggests they may have been taken from Angola by Portuguese slave traders and then captured at sea by British pirates flying the Dutch flag, who then sold them in Virginia.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Looking further ahead, RWE has flagged capacity auctions for more than 10 gigawatts due in Germany and the Netherlands that have not been baked into its 2031 guidance, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Yields on 10-year and 30-year Treasury bonds briefly dipped after Friday’s July payrolls report showed a surprise decline in the number of jobs, but the move was quickly reversed — something Rosenberg flagged as concerning.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

Ocasio-Cortez flagged this in an Instagram story discussing why women might freeze eggs.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Kazakhstan's cloud-seeding trials raised alarm in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan where fears were flagged of "cloud theft" -- alleging that rain clouds could be diverted to Kazakhstan, aggravating its own drought.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

These mounds had been flagged as possible ruins for nearly a century but never excavated because they seemed to have no valuable gold or ceramic objects.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

"But that does not mean anything if Croatia does not have the capacity," Fugas said, flagging the necessary pipeline upgrade for any new demand.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Kamakoti says AI could go further, automatically flagging suspicious behaviour - such as prolonged conversations between invigilators and candidates - so officials can intervene in real time.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

She endorsed the review as a necessary evolution of “a very important system that we benefit from here in California in a unique way,” while flagging what makes UC an outlier nationally.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Kalshi said it was cooperating with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after flagging wagers that made more than $100,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

My enthusiasm for detective work may have been flagging after these long weeks working as this child’s nanny.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Related Words

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