lag
1to fail to maintain a desired pace or to keep up; fall or stay behind: After five minutes of hard running, some of them began to lag.
to move or develop slowly, as toward a goal or objective, or in relation to an associated factor (often followed by behind): to lag behind in production.
to delay or fail in reaching full development: The factory lags regularly in making its quota.
to decrease, wane, or flag gradually, as in intensity: Interest lagged as the meeting went on.
(in video games) to experience a delay between player input or game signals and the in-game manifestation of that action, often due to high network latency: I’m lagging so hard that enemies are killing me before I can even attack them.
Marbles. to throw one's shooting marble toward a line (lag line ) on the ground in order to decide on the order of play.
Billiards, Pool. string (def. 33).
to fail to keep up with: The industry still lags the national economy.
Obsolete. to cause to lag.
a lagging or falling behind; retardation.
a person who lags behind, is the last to arrive, etc.
an interval or lapse of time: There was a developmental lag in the diffusion of ideas.
Digital Technology.
Also called dis·play lag [dih-spley-lag] /dɪˈspleɪ ˌlæg/ . the delay between a signal input and its display on a screen, as a high-definition television screen or LCD, due to latency in digital data conversion.
Also called in·put lag [in-poot lag] /ˈɪnˌpʊt ˌlæg/ . (in video games) a display lag between player input or game signals and the in-game manifestation of that action, due to differences in display refresh rate or controller input: To make a competitive speed run, your best display option for minimal lag is still a CRT.
Also called net·work lag [net-wurk lag] /ˈnɛtˌwɜrk ˌlæg/ . (in video games) such a display lag due to high network latency: If you have an old computer or slow connection, lag makes multiplayer gameplay difficult.
Mechanics. the amount of retardation of some motion.
Electricity. the retardation of one alternating quantity, as current, with respect to another related alternating quantity, as voltage, often expressed in degrees.
Marbles, Billiards, Pool. the act of lagging.
Origin of lag
1Other words for lag
1 | loiter, linger |
11 | slowing, slowdown |
Opposites for lag
Words Nearby lag
Other definitions for lag (2 of 3)
a convict or ex-convict.
a period or term of penal servitude; prison sentence.
Origin of lag
2Other definitions for lag (3 of 3)
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.
to line or cover (an excavation) with lagging.
to cover with insulation, as a steam boiler, to prevent radiation of heat.
Origin of lag
3Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use lag in a sentence
Shared servers are ok for smaller sites, but if you want to avoid the lag time, opt for another type of hosting.
Why site speed is critical for your SEO success and how to make it happen | Anthony Gaenzle | September 4, 2020 | Search Engine WatchThat way, visitors can still play the video right there on your page, but they won’t deal with any lag in load time.
Why site speed is critical for your SEO success and how to make it happen | Anthony Gaenzle | September 4, 2020 | Search Engine WatchI had enough of dropping off important Zoom calls and listening to my partner complain about the lag during video games.
Those steps are part of the reason for the lag every election.
Morning Report: The GOP Loved Mail Voting Before it Hated it | Voice of San Diego | August 10, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoSo for example, when you click on a link on your phone, you might notice there’s some lag time to get a response back from the network.
If detection lag time is 10 days, then that, plus a healthy margin, should be the “deferral” period.
The Outrageous Celibacy Requirement for Gay Blood Donors | Jay Michaelson | November 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd best of all, no TSA and no jet lag (although we make no guarantees against a next-day hangover).
Was there a long lag between those tapes and the tapes released more recently?
Breastfeeding rates for black women have risen but still lag far behind those for white and Hispanic mothers.
About 50 percent of clients use the I.V. Doc for other things—stomach bugs and jet lag, for example.
The I.V. Doc Comes to Your House, Fights Hangovers, and Wins | Abby Haglage | July 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOwing to its inertia, it would thus tend continually to lag behind the particles of matter about it.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerEcclesiastical is ever wont to lag somewhat in the rear of political improvement.
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century | Charles J. Abbey and John H. OvertonI was living in Lambeth at the house of an old lag, who practically took nobody but crooks as lodgers.
The Daffodil Mystery | Edgar WallaceWhile he was urging on one part of the herd, the others would lag by the wayside and begin to graze.
The Pony Rider Boys in Texas | Frank Gee PatchinThey invariably keep up, and oftener come out ahead than they lag behind.
The Education of American Girls | Anna Callender Brackett
British Dictionary definitions for lag (1 of 3)
/ (læɡ) /
(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
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
Origin of lag
1British Dictionary definitions for lag (2 of 3)
/ (læɡ) slang /
a convict or ex-convict (esp in the phrase old lag)
a term of imprisonment
(tr) to arrest or put in prison
Origin of lag
2British Dictionary definitions for lag (3 of 3)
/ (læɡ) /
(tr) to cover (a pipe, cylinder, etc) with lagging to prevent loss of heat
the insulating casing of a steam cylinder, boiler, etc; lagging
a stave or lath
Origin of lag
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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