lag
1[ lag ]
/ læg /
verb (used without object), lagged, lag·ging.
verb (used with object), lagged, lag·ging.
to fail to keep up with: The industry still lags the national economy.
Obsolete. to cause to lag.
noun
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
slow, slacken, wane, trail, decrease, falter, diminish, fail, shuffle, ebb, slouch, tarry, jelly, dawdle, procrastinate, poke, dillydally, idle, lounge, plod
Nearby words
- lafora body,
- lafora body disease,
- lafora's disease,
- laforgue,
- lafta,
- lag b'omer,
- lag correlation,
- lag line,
- lag screw,
- lag-screw
Origin of lag
11505–15; < Scandinavian: compare Norwegian lagga to go slowly
lag
2[ lag ]
/ læg /
verb (used with object), lagged, lag·ging.
to send to penal servitude; imprison.
noun
a convict or ex-convict.
a period or term of penal servitude; prison sentence.
Origin of lag
2First recorded in 1565–75; origin uncertain
lag
3[ lag ]
/ læg /
noun
one of the staves or strips that form the periphery of a wooden drum, the casing of a steam cylinder, or the like.
Masonry. a crosspiece between ribs in a centering.
verb (used with object), lagged, lag·ging.
to line or cover (an excavation) with lagging.
to cover with insulation, as a steam boiler, to prevent radiation of heat.
Origin of lag
31665–75; < Scandinavian; compare Swedish lagg stave
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for lag
lag
1/ (læɡ) /
verb lags, lagging or lagged (intr)
(often foll by behind) to hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc
to fall away in strength or intensity
to determine an order of play in certain games, as by rolling marbles towards a line or, in billiards, hitting cue balls up the table against the top cushion in an attempt to bring them back close to the headrail
noun
the act or state of slowing down or falling behind
the interval of time between two events, esp between an action and its effect
an act of lagging in a game, such as billiards
Word Origin for lag
C16: of obscure origin
noun
a convict or ex-convict (esp in the phrase old lag)
a term of imprisonment
verb lags, lagging or lagged
(tr) to arrest or put in prison
Word Origin for lag
C19: of unknown origin
verb lags, lagging or lagged
(tr) to cover (a pipe, cylinder, etc) with lagging to prevent loss of heat
noun
the insulating casing of a steam cylinder, boiler, etc; lagging
a stave or lath
Word Origin for lag
C17: of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish lagg stave
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
lag
"fail to keep pace," 1520s, earlier as a noun meaning "last person" (1510s), later also as an adjective (1550s; e.g. lag-mon "last man"), all of uncertain relationship, possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Norwegian lagga "go slowly"), or some dialectal version of last, lack, or delay. Related: Lag; lagging. The noun meaning "retardation" is from 1855. First record of lag time is from 1951.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper