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lax
1[ laks ]
/ læks /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adjective, lax·er, lax·est.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of lax
1First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin laxus “loose, spacious, wide”; akin to languēre “to be sluggish, faint, unwell”; cognate with Old English slæc slack1
OTHER WORDS FROM lax
Words nearby lax
law unto oneself, lawyer, lawyering, lawyer's wig, lawyer vine, lax, Laxalt, laxation, laxative, laxity, Laxness
Other definitions for lax (2 of 2)
lax2
[ laks ]
/ læks /
noun Informal.
lacrosse: To handle my course load, I know I have to cut back on extracurricular activities, but no way am I giving up lax.
Origin of lax
2First recorded in 1970–75; la(crosse) + x3 “a cross,” (in the sense cross, a pun on crosse, the stick used in lacrosse)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use lax in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for lax
lax
/ (læks) /
adjective
lacking firmness; not strict
lacking precision or definition
not taut
phonetics (of a speech sound) pronounced with little muscular effort and consequently having relatively imprecise accuracy of articulation and little temporal duration. In English the vowel i in bit is lax
(of flower clusters) having loosely arranged parts
Derived forms of lax
laxly, adverblaxity or laxness, nounWord Origin for lax
C14 (originally used with reference to the bowels): from Latin laxus loose
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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