drag out
phrasal 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
There is no evidence that Mr. Biden has sought to drag out the cases.
—
Linda Qiu, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
That argument looks increasingly self-serving the longer the war drags out.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
The effort to drag out the Manhattan case until after the Supreme Court addressed the immunity issue seemed particularly far-fetched.
—William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Securing compensation for victims of such white-collar crimes can drag out for years.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
An alternative strategy, which Democrats are already predicting, is that House Oversight Chairman James Comer and his Republican colleagues, who have led the congressional investigation into the Bidens, will drag out the inquiry.
—Erica Brown, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
Others are simply upset at the way the whole process has dragged out.
—Lisa Mascaro, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2023
Early this year, Weyand settled with the nursing home for $50,000, after his lawyer estimated that dragging out the legal case could cost him more than that.
—Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024
The plan, as Navarro described it in his book, involved dragging out the vote count with 24 hours of speeches from Republicans in swing states won by Joe Biden.
—Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
Linda Qiu, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
That argument looks increasingly self-serving the longer the war drags out.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
The effort to drag out the Manhattan case until after the Supreme Court addressed the immunity issue seemed particularly far-fetched.
—William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Securing compensation for victims of such white-collar crimes can drag out for years.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 1 Apr. 2024
An alternative strategy, which Democrats are already predicting, is that House Oversight Chairman James Comer and his Republican colleagues, who have led the congressional investigation into the Bidens, will drag out the inquiry.
—Erica Brown, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
Others are simply upset at the way the whole process has dragged out.
—Lisa Mascaro, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2023
Early this year, Weyand settled with the nursing home for $50,000, after his lawyer estimated that dragging out the legal case could cost him more than that.
—Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024
The plan, as Navarro described it in his book, involved dragging out the vote count with 24 hours of speeches from Republicans in swing states won by Joe Biden.
—Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near drag out
Cite this Entry
“Drag out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drag%20out. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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