shag
1 Americannoun
-
rough, matted hair, wool, or the like.
-
a mass of this.
-
a hairdo in which hair is cut in slightly uneven, overlapping layers downward from the crown, sometimes with the hair at the front and back hairlines left longer or wispier than the rest.
-
a cloth with a nap, as of silk or a heavy or rough woolen fabric.
-
a rug or carpet with a thick, shaggy pile.
-
a coarse tobacco cut into fine shreds.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
a small cormorant, Phalacrocorax aristotelis, of European coasts.
-
any of several small cormorants of the Southern Hemisphere.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
an act or instance of sexual intercourse.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a shag.
-
a sexual partner, or a person considered as a sexual object.
I bet she’d be a good shag.
noun
-
a matted tangle, esp of hair, wool, etc
-
a napped fabric, usually a rough wool
-
shredded coarse tobacco
verb
verb
-
to have sexual intercourse with (a person)
-
to exhaust; tire
noun
noun
-
a cormorant, esp the green cormorant ( Phalacrocorax aristotelis )
-
slang abandoned and alone
Usage
What else does shag mean? Shag means "to have sex" with someone in British slang.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shag1
First recorded before 1050; Old English sceacga “(wooly) hair” (not recorded in Middle English ); cognate with Old Norse skegg “beard”; akin to shaw
Origin of shag2
First recorded before 1560–70; perhaps special use of shag 1, applied first to bird's crest
Origin of shag3
First recorded in 1350–1400; perhaps variant of shog
Origin of shag4
First recorded in 1930–35; origin uncertain; see shack 2
Origin of shag5
First recorded in 1780–90; origin unknown
Vocabulary lists containing shag
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:
My wife absolutely loves the full shag carpeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
One of the pieces in the exhibition is an A-line shag mini dress in cheetah print that Saar made for herself in 1969, and has been passed through the hands of her daughters and granddaughters.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
They spread poster boards across the cream-colored shag rug, shook up their paint pens and started to craft their messages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
The fulcrum of a cultural transition from vibrancy to stagnation was the 1970s, an era remembered now, if at all, for leisure suits, burnt-orange shag carpeting and muttonchop sideburns.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2025
When he entered the house, he looked around at the blank-faced walls, the two prickly bushes outside the window—the tan shag carpeting, the lack of books, the tiny stove.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
As Team USA ran through its first World Baseball Classic workout, Kershaw participated in pitchers’ fielding practice and shagged fly balls during batting practice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026
He ran, shagged flyballs and was expected to hit before the game.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2021
In the 1960s, caddies shagged balls for their players during range sessions.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 8, 2019
A ballboy named Brady and three others that looked like they shared the name shagged flat jumpers for George 45 minutes before tip Wednesday, as onlookers stood by.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2017
And then Joe Pepitone got up and Doug and I shagged balls in the outfield.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
In the next city, Cincinnati, Roberts spent an afternoon in left field with him while he was shagging fly balls during batting practice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The Pirates say the guest was shagging balls at the team’s spring training complex when he had “a medical event” that required immediate attention and caused practice to stop.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 21, 2023
“Ryan basically was their little gofer boy,” Kristi said, “running around, shagging balls, running the bases, getting the balls for the big brothers, and he just learned the game very, very young.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2022
Other times, he will sit down with one after the pitchers come in from their warmups after shagging flyballs.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 23, 2022
The South Florida players get the chance to interact with big leaguers and are displaying extra enthusiasm while shagging batting practice.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2022
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
