plural lags
1
b
: comparative slowness or delay (as in movement, operation, or development)
In Finland … children begin school at seven. Despite that apparent lag, Finnish students score higher in reading comprehension than students from the UK and the US at age 15.—Melissa Hogenboom
c
: a delay or interval between two related actions, events, etc.
… the day or so lag between the time you deposit a check in your bank and the time the check clears … .—Lee Smith
… when using Bluetooth headphones to watch videos … there can be some noticeable lag between the motion in the picture and the sound from the headphones.—Markkus Rovito
The longer a person is unaware of a positive test, the more time the person has to infect others. Local directors said they are still experiencing unacceptable lag times of as much as a week between test and data entry.—Edmund H. Mahony
… the enormous lag time between the initial sketches of that new A-line skirt and its arrival in stores.—James Surowiecki
see also time lag
2
or lag putt golf
: a usually long putt struck with the aim of having the ball stop near the hole
The 18th wasn't a picnic for Parker yesterday. He … was forced to make a good lag to assure his par.—Chris Stevenson
One of the best lag putts Vijay Singh ever stroked made him a back-to-back winner on the PGA Tour …—The Columbian
3
archaic
: someone or something that lags or is last
The omission of Harrison and Braxton and my being next to the lag [in number of votes] give me some alarm.—Thomas Jefferson
lagged; lagging; lags
1
a
transitive + intransitive
: to stay or fall behind : to fail to keep up with others or with a goal, schedule, etc.
A few runners lagged the others.
He was relieved to find that his friend had also lagged by the wayside.—P. G. Wodehouse
Argentina is the world's fifth-largest wine producer but has lagged other countries developing their wine industries for export.—Clifford Krauss
Repo companies are reportedly excited about the prospect of remotely locking you out of your car if you're lagging on payments.—Beth Wilson
—often used with behind… my horse, being tired, lagged behind.—Charles Darwin
… the island's minister of economic affairs cautioned … that Taiwan was lagging behind its target of producing 20 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2025 …—Joanna Chiu
b
intransitive
: to move, function, or develop with comparative slowness
After Sen. Dole's broadside against the entertainment industry, Time Warner Inc. asked the music industry to develop standards for releasing explicit material and said it would act unilaterally if other companies lagged.—Ellen Graham
The songs … sound a little like he's singing with a digital delay echo, but even a cursory listen reveals that it's not that simple. Sometimes the voices on tape would anticipate him, sometimes they'd lag way behind, sometimes he was a unison chorus.—Kyle Gann
2
intransitive
: to slacken or weaken gradually : flag
… headachy brunches where the champagne punch tasted sour and conversation lagged.—John Updike
This music … didn't rush—at least not after a bracingly brisk overture—but never lagged, the textures as airy as a June morning on Coney Island.—Zachary Woolfe
3
transitive + intransitive
golf
: to hit (a golf ball or putt) with the aim of having the ball stop near the hole : to hit a lag putt (see lag entry 1 sense 2)
Woods lagged his first putt to within four feet and then sank his second one to win.—Tim Crothers
My chip up onto the green was miserable. I left Bill a 40-foot putt. He lagged and left the ball three feet from the cup.—Giles Tippette
lagger
noun
plural laggers
"The men whom you would disturb are in front of you, and not, as you fancy, behind you; it is you who are the lagger, not they."
—Samuel Butler
1
: a barrel stave
2
: a stave, slat, or strip (as of wood or asbestos) forming part of a covering for a cylindrical object
lagged; lagging
1
chiefly British slang
: to transport or jail for crime
2
chiefly British slang
: arrest
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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