lagging

¹ American  

[lag-ing] / ˈlæg ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of falling or staying behind.

---

adjective

1. lingering; loitering; slow and dragging.

   lagging steps.

lagging ² American  

[lag-ing] / ˈlæg ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of covering a boiler, oil tank, etc., with heat-insulating material.

2. the covering formed.

3. the material used.

4. a number of boards or the like joined together side by side to line an excavation.

5. Masonry. a number of lags, taken as a whole.

---

lagging British  

/ ˈlæɡɪŋ /

noun

1. insulating material wrapped around pipes, boilers, etc, or laid in a roof loft, to prevent loss of heat

2. the act or process of applying lagging

3. a wooden frame used to support an arch during construction

---

Other Word Forms

• laggingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of lagging¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; lag ¹ + -ing ¹, -ing ² ( def. )

Origin of lagging²

First recorded in 1850–55; lag ³ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lagging

An Emerson College poll on Thursday found Talarico slightly lagging among Black voters compared to Texas Democrats’ nominee for governor.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Last week, fresh official data showed wage growth coming in at 3.2 percent year-on-year, lagging inflation and meaning that most people were seeing their income shrink in real terms.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Just last month, Microsoft began layoffs of 20% of its Xbox employees as part of a sweeping reorganization to revive the company’s lagging games division.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

But Jamner of ClearBridge said the fact that revenue growth is lagging behind capex is not a surprise.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Through smaller class sizes and more intense attention given to lagging students, it managed to claw its way into the middle.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Related Words

• underdeveloped