lag

¹ American  

[lag] / læg /

verb (used without object)

lagged, lagging

1. to 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.

   Synonyms:

   linger, loiter

   Antonyms:

   hasten

2. to move or develop slowly, as toward a goal or objective, or in relation to an associated factor (often followed bybehind ).

   to lag behind in production.

3. to delay or fail in reaching full development.

   The factory lags regularly in making its quota.

4. to hang back; linger; delay.

   The old friends lagged because they wanted to talk some more.

5. to decrease, wane, or flag gradually, as in intensity.

   Interest lagged as the meeting went on.

6. (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.

7. Marbles. to throw one's shooting marble toward a line lag line on the ground in order to decide on the order of play.

8. Billiards, Pool. string.

---

verb (used with object)

lagged, lagging

1. to fail to keep up with.

   The industry still lags the national economy.

2. Obsolete. to cause to lag.

noun

1. a lagging or falling behind; retardation.

   Synonyms:

   slowdown

2. a person who lags behind, is the last to arrive, etc.

3. an interval or lapse of time.

   There was a developmental lag in the diffusion of ideas.

4. Digital Technology.

   1. Also called display lag.  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.

   2. Also called input lag.  (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.

   3. Also called network lag.  (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.

5. Mechanics. the amount of retardation of some motion.

6. Electricity. the retardation of one alternating quantity, as current, with respect to another related alternating quantity, as voltage, often expressed in degrees.

7. Marbles, Billiards, Pool. the act of lagging.

lag ² American  

[lag] / læg /

verb (used with object)

lagged, lagging

1. to send to penal servitude; imprison

---

noun

1. a convict or ex-convict.

2. a period or term of penal servitude; prison sentence.

lag ³ American  

[lag] / læg /

noun

1. one of the staves or strips that form the periphery of a wooden drum, the casing of a steam cylinder, or the like.

2. Masonry. a crosspiece between ribs in a centering.

---

verb (used with object)

lagged, lagging

1. to line or cover (an excavation) with lagging.

2. to cover with insulation, as a steam boiler, to prevent radiation of heat.

lag ¹ British  

/ læɡ /

verb

1. (often foll by behind) to hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc

2. to fall away in strength or intensity

3. 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

1. the act or state of slowing down or falling behind

2. the interval of time between two events, esp between an action and its effect

3. an act of lagging in a game, such as billiards

lag ² British  

/ læɡ /

noun

1. a convict or ex-convict (esp in the phrase old lag )

2. a term of imprisonment

---

verb

1. (tr) to arrest or put in prison

lag ³ British  

/ læɡ /

verb

1. (tr) to cover (a pipe, cylinder, etc) with lagging to prevent loss of heat

---

noun

1. the insulating casing of a steam cylinder, boiler, etc; lagging

2. a stave or lath

Etymology

Origin of lag¹

First recorded in 1500–50; origin uncertain, probably from Scandinavian: compare Middle Danish lakke, Norwegian lagga “to go slowly”

Origin of lag²

First recorded in 1565–75; origin uncertain

Origin of lag³

First recorded in 1655–60; from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse lǫgg “rim of a barrel,” Swedish lagg “stave”

Explanation

When you can't keep up with your fellow marathon runners, you can say that you lag behind them. The word lag describes a kind of slowness or delay. As a noun, it means a slowing: "The coach was disappointed by the lag in her swimmers' best times that day." When you lag behind someone, you fall back or don't measure up. A student who struggles with math, for example, might say that his grades lag behind his best friend's. In the 1550s, lag meant "last person."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lag lagged lagging

Even then, there will be a lag before energy is flowing freely through the strait and pressure on energy prices are eased.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Specialty lamps are already sold for other biological purposes, including helping people cope with disruptions to natural circadian rhythms such as jet lag.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

Notice that seven of the nine are projecting that the S&P 500 will significantly lag inflation over the next decade, while an eighth is projecting a flat real return.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

He expressed frustration with a perceived lag in the arrival of aid while the nation celebrated Independence Day with pomp and ceremony in the capital Jakarta.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

She didn’t answer for a few seconds, and I thought maybe she didn’t hear me, but it was just the phone lag.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller

The company recently told investors that its second-quarter revenue growth lagged behind Anthropic’s, disappointing some shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

This chart demonstrates the lagged effect of three of these contractionary forces: dollar strength and rising oil prices and long-bond yields.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Wrist-based tracking during cycling and Pilates lagged behind the Whoop and Apple Watch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Its year-over-year sales growth has lagged behind capital-expeditures growth by a much wider margin than usual, noted a team of BofA strategists led by Savita Subramanian, head of U.S. equity strategy.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

He caught the gaze of the apprentice, who lagged a few yards behind the others.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Canada has also significantly ramped up defence spending in recent months after years of lagging behind Nato targets.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

The momentum index has tumbled more than 9% since July 1, lagging behind the S&P 500’s 2.8% gain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Offshore wind power, a complement to solar because it blows overnight, is lagging in California in the face of powerful political opposition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

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

When Samir looked back and saw the donkey, the pack mule, and me lagging behind, he slowed to a walk.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• decrease
• diminish
• fail
• fall off
• falter
• slacken
• slow
• trail
• wane