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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

“Our annual pricing sensitivities, which are based on a 15 day lag for simplicity, do not account for the steep changes near quarter end,” Beerman says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

There is also a lag between reporting and updating national data.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

Paramount-Warner Bros. would still lag behind Google’s YouTube, Netflix, Disney and Amazon in streaming television viewership.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

He said investors could make room for such a shift by reducing overweight positions in traditional defensive sectors, which tend to lag when the economy is still expanding and a bull market remains intact.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

The first twin goes fifty-fifty and blames it on the time zone change and her jet lag from flying in from Louisiana to New York.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

"The lagged effect from high energy prices will probably lift inflation above 3.0 percent in September and to about 3.5 percent early next year," he said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

The club was a perk for Indian bureaucrats and military officers whose government salaries lagged behind those in the private sector, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Until now, though, enzymatic methods have lagged far behind conventional manufacturing in the number of DNA sequences they can produce simultaneously.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Bur he lagged behind Antonelli throughout, and although there was less than 0.1secs separating the Mercedes drivers after their first runs, the gap opened when Russell did not improve and Antonelli lopped 0.274secs off his.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

The talk lagged and the time went on.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Microsoft’s video game division plans to eliminate 3,200 jobs, or around 20% of its staff over the next year, as part of a sweeping reorganization to revive the company’s lagging games division.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

Until the railroad boom of the 18th century’s second half, the U.S. was actually lagging the U.K., owing to major panics in 1819 and 1837.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026

But educational, social and financial support is lagging.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

Dividend Equity ETF is up 18% after lagging behind the market with a 4% return in 2025.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

Two teams, each with a mason and a carpenter, worked simultaneously from both sides of a vault — installing first the lagging and then the webbing.

From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay

Related Words

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