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

But in recent years, early momentum from Republicans has been tempered as the vote count becomes more complete, especially as Democrats are generally more comfortable voting by mail, a process that drags out election results. —Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026

Whatever pleasure could be had in Nate’s comeuppance was undone by his humiliation dragging out for hours before being put out of his misery; Cassie’s next act as a hype-house doyenne is only handwaved at, and any responsibility for Nate’s unpaid debts handwaved entirely. —Alison Herman, Variety, 1 June 2026

Denial of a broadcast license renewal is extremely rare, and is a process that can drag out for years. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 28 May 2026

Such behavior drags out court proceedings, drives up costs, and erodes trust in lawyers, Chen said. —Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 27 May 2026

Rhymes for drag out

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