laggard

American  

[lag-erd] / ˈlæg ərd /

noun

1. a person or thing that lags; lingerer; loiterer.

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adjective

1. moving, developing, or responding slowly; sluggish; dilatory; backward.

laggard British  

/ ˈlæɡəd /

noun

1. a person who lags behind

2. a dawdler or straggler

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adjective

1. rare sluggish, slow, or dawdling

Other Word Forms

• laggardly adverb
• laggardness noun

Etymology

Origin of laggard

First recorded in 1695–1705; lag ¹ + -ard

Example Sentences

Investors could easily rotate into the AI laggards.

From Barron's

The stock is up only 1.4% this year, as investors have perceived the company as an AI laggard because of slower-than-expected growth in Amazon Web Services.

From MarketWatch

It’s worth noting that the stocks weren’t always laggards.

From MarketWatch

Even our growth stocks were laggards this year.

From Barron's

Skewing toward value also means owning more of the market’s laggards, but there may be more risk in having too many eggs in one tech/AI basket.

From Barron's