laggard

1 of 2

adjective

lag·​gard ˈla-gərd 

: lagging or tending to lag : slow especially compared to others of the same kind

a laggard pace

… we arrived in Northville, to find … the celebrated ducks playing host to a laggard flock of dark-brown Canada geese.

—The New Yorker

With sugar prices weak, the stock has been laggard.

—Richard B. Hoey

laggardly adverb or adjective

laggardness noun

laggard

2 of 2

noun

plural laggards

: someone or something that lags or lingers : someone or something that is slow especially compared to others of the same kind

A few laggards slowed down the pace of the hike.

The company has been accused of being a laggard in adopting new technology.

They [brown bears] usually catch salmon by chasing them through shallow water and pouncing on the laggards.

—National Wildlife

Synonyms

Adjective

• crawling
• creeping
• dallying
• dawdling
• dilatory
• dillydallying
• dragging
• lagging
• languid
• leisurely
• poking
• poky
• pokey
• slow
• sluggish
• snail-paced
• snaillike
• tardy
• unhurried

Noun

• crawler
• dallier
• dawdler
• dragger
• lagger
• lingerer
• loiterer
• plodder
• slowpoke
• snail
• straggler

Examples of laggard in a Sentence

Adjective

I hate being stuck behind laggard motorists on the freeway.

Noun

The company has been a laggard in developing new products.

tried to spur on the laggards at the back of the line during the hike

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Bush’s father, President George H.W. Bush, came under fire in 1992 for his laggard response to Andrew in Florida, a Category 5 hurricane with winds that reached 165 mph, shortly before his reelection contest against Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. —Julian Zelizer, CNN, 30 Sep. 2022

Its laggard incubation period gives us a full 21 days to intervene between exposure and disease. —Abdul El-Sayed, The New Republic, 29 Sep. 2022

Noun

The laggard for the week has been the Dow Jones Industrial Average. —Jj Kinahan, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

Consumer discretionary also struggled, with Tesla , Starbucks , Chipotle , Nike , and Amazon among the notable laggards. —Jeff Marks, CNBC, 5 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1702, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1705, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for laggard

• staggered
• swaggered

Kids Definition

laggard

adjective

lag·​gard

ˈlag-ərd

: lagging or tending to lag : slow

laggard noun

laggardly adverb or adjective