drag out

verb

dragged out; dragging out; drags out

1

: to cause (something) to take more time than necessary

He dragged out the speech much too long.

2

: to force (something, such as a confession) from (someone) : to make (someone) tell one (something)

The teacher eventually dragged a confession out of one of the students.

Doctors sometimes have to drag information out of their patients.

Examples of drag out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Twelve blocks to the west, the Pacific Ocean glitters and threatens, waves dragging out in the wind. —Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

And how much concern is there that while the war, the ceasefire's dragging out, gas prices continue to go up and the midterms are around the corner? —NBC news, 3 May 2026

The dispute has dragged out for an unusually long time between the Broward hospitals and Florida Blue, one of the largest health insurers in the state, leaving thousands of people locked out of in-network care at the public hospital systems. —Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2026

The movement of Pinnock and Cheek drags out Gillingham’s defensive shape. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for drag out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout