foot-dragging
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of foot-dragging
First recorded in 1945–50; from the verb phrase drag one's feet
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The bureaucratic foot-dragging has to end so that America can do the same.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
As the first of the dead were laid to rest Wednesday, Jewish Australians said they felt unsafe, angry and frustrated at perceived government foot-dragging in confronting antisemitism.
From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025
The families have complained for years about what they call foot-dragging by authorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2024
Hernandez admonished the Corps for having “fought tooth and nail” against better measures for fish, foot-dragging that the judge said had pushed the fish closer to the edge of extinction.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2023
Outraged by Morgan Stanley’s foot-dragging, Howie Hubler threatened to quit.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
