laggard
Americannoun
adjective
noun
-
a person who lags behind
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a dawdler or straggler
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of laggard
Explanation
Hey pokey! Yeah you, Mr. Slow Pants. Quit your dawdling! This is no time to be a laggard, or someone who's always lagging behind. So who was the bigger laggard — the tortoise or the hare? Well that turtle sure was slow moving, but at least he continued at a steady pace. The hare was speedy, but took more time than necessary, goofing around and falling behind. It's a tough call, and one that the literary community has totally been dragging their feet on. What a bunch of laggards!
Vocabulary lists containing laggard
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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Languor Management: Synonyms for "Lazy"
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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.
For decades, Canada was seen as a global laggard in defence funding, and just two years ago, recruitment was so dire that a former defence minister warned the armed forces were in a "death spiral".
From BBC • May 9, 2026
Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, is up “just” 22%, making it a laggard as well.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
Intel has gone from stock-market laggard to industry outperformer over the past few months, due largely to a recent chip-development deal with AI titan Nvidia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Beyond Amazon’s satellite ambitions, newfound confidence in the company’s artificial-intelligence initiatives have also lifted shares in recent days as the stock appears to be shaking off its AI laggard label.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
On the last three moves, Bull had swaggered among the movers shouting out commands as though they were laggard corporals in need of KP.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
