drag out

phrasal verb

dragged out; dragging out; drags out

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

He dragged out the speech much too long.

: 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 The Supreme Court punted to a lower court the question of whether Trump's actions on Jan. 6 are considered protected, which will drag out the proceedings. —

Axios, 15 July 2024 Mammoths and other ice age animals are routinely dragged out of the permafrost in relatively good condition, with their soft tissues preserved. —

Michael Irving, New Atlas, 11 July 2024 The woman said she was then dragged out of the car and left at the boat launch. —

Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2024 Read: Daisy Jones and the trap of the love triangle As the recording sessions drag out, the tensions ratchet up; some scenes begin after midnight. —

Elise Hannum, The Atlantic, 20 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for drag out

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drag out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.