sag
verb (used without object)
to sink or bend downward by weight or pressure, especially in the middle.
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sag
1 American
[sag]
/ sæg /
verb (used without object)
-
sags,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sagged,
past participle, past
-
sagging
present participle
-
to sink or bend downward by weight or pressure, especially in the middle.
The roof sags.
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to hang down unevenly; droop.
Her skirt was sagging.
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to droop; hang loosely.
His shoulders sagged.
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to yield through weakness, lack of effort, or the like.
Our spirits began to sag.
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to decline, as in price.
The stock market sagged today.
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Nautical.
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(of a hull) to droop at the center or have excessive sheer because of structural weakness.
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to be driven to leeward; to make too much leeway.
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verb (used with object)
-
sags,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sagged,
past participle, past
-
sagging
present participle
noun
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an act or instance of sagging.
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the degree of sagging.
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a place where anything sags; depression.
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a moderate decline in prices.
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Nautical.
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deflection downward of a hull amidships, due to structural weakness.
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SAG
2
American
[sag]
/ sæg /
noun
sag
British
/ sæɡ /
verb
-
(also tr) to sink or cause to sink in parts, as under weight or pressure
the bed sags in the middle
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to fall in value
prices sagged to a new low
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to hang unevenly; droop
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(of courage, spirits, etc) to weaken; flag
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sagsimple
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sagssimple
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have saggedperfect
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has saggedperfect
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am saggingprogressive
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are saggingprogressive
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is saggingprogressive
-
have been saggingperfect progressive
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has been saggingperfect progressive
Past
-
saggedsimple
-
had saggedperfect
-
was saggingprogressive
-
were saggingprogressive
-
had been saggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sag
1375–1425; late Middle English saggen (v.), probably < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian sagga to move slowly (akin to Low German sacken to sink, Norwegian, Danish sakke, Swedish sacka, Icelandic sakka to slow up, fall behind)
Explanation
When something sags, it leans, settles, or droops. If your bed sags in the middle, it can be hard to get a good night's sleep. When you're tired, your whole body may sag, drooping with exhaustion. And older people are sometimes surprised to look in the mirror and see that their faces are beginning to sag with age. Objects sag too, with weight or age: "The porch on that old house has started to sag — the whole thing may need to be torn down." Sag is probably related to the Old Norse sokkva, "to sink."
Vocabulary lists containing sag
"Harlem" by Langston Hughes
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"Harlem" by Langston Hughes
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Together, they are intended to support the muscles of the throat so the airway is less likely to sag or collapse during sleep.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Soprano Elizabeth Novella was a monochromatic Donna Anna, and exaggerated rubato often made her impassioned outbursts sag.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
National rail said heat can cause overhead lines to expand and sag, line-side fires and also rails to buckle.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
Its rice was a finicky crop that sprouts slow, skinny and tall, with fewer grains per bunch, and heads that can sag below the reach of the thresher and end up in the mud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2024
Mr. Turner caught sight of me, wincing at the sag of my stockings.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Jordan made good on the momentum he gained by winning the SAG Actor Award two weeks ago to bring home an Academy Award in his first try.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
US actor Michael B Jordan has scored a surprise win at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards, giving him a surge of momentum in the final weeks before the Oscars.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
From Harrison Ford’s lifetime achievement award to the big winners of the night, including “Sinners,” “The Pitt” and “The Studio,” here’s what happened at the SAG awards show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
The Actor Awards — formerly the SAG Awards — got a facelift this year, one host Kristen Bell made sure to poke fun of as she kicked off the 32nd annual ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
The SAG Awards are voted for by fellow actors.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
But the fact that one can articulate the problem so concisely is perhaps why “The Visit” sags a bit in the middle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
If, at times, the narrative structure sags and the character portraits blur, it’s in service to the immensity of hope and defiance extinguished by the airstrike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Home buyers are scoring the biggest discounts in over a decade as the housing market sags from weak demand.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 2, 2026
Gold and stocks have been rallying together to record highs, as the dollar sags and bond yields go sideways.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025
Her eyes are sunken and red, and her skin...it sags off her bones like it doesn’t belong to her.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
This lock-in effect—homeowners refusing to sell and give up a low mortgage rate they locked in years ago—has allowed prices to continue rising, even as demand has sagged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
In this scenario, dense, water-rich portions of Earth's cooler outer crust periodically sagged downward and collapsed into the hotter mantle, transporting water with them.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Two load-bearing columns of a 37-story tower currently under construction, located near Grand Central Terminal, warped and several floors sagged on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Their first two LPs sagged on the Billboard 200, but the third, in 1975, did well, boosted by the hit “It Only Takes a Minute.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
I sagged into the wheel and piled straw on my lap.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Her protagonist - who is 50 - has a slight obsession with sagging skin, which will no doubt strike a chord with many.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Immediately noticeable were the sagging eaves, the multitude of leaks from the roof, the dried out, splintered mahogany and the battered exterior woodwork, which had suffered seven decades of winds from the Sound.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
In this alternate universe, beautiful people have pig snouts, distorted mouths, and sagging cheeks.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
Treasury Secretary, and it’s the sagging yen he’s fighting to defend, not the dollar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
He releases the rudder, slumps against the sagging sides.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
