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

He had been expected to have a medical on Friday, but the situation could now be dragged out. —Paul Taylor, New York Times, 11 July 2025

Unable to stop the march toward passage, the Democrats as the minority party in Congress are using the tools at their disposal to delay and drag out the process. —Jim Edwards, Fortune, 1 July 2025

If the patient is seriously ill and expected to die soon, the insurance company might save money simply by dragging out the process in the hope that the patient dies before the case is resolved. —Jennifer D. Oliva, The Conversation, 20 June 2025

However, the lawyers warned Cooper that the university would drag out a case for years. —Skyler Caruso, People.com, 13 June 2025

Rhymes for drag out

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