lag 1 of 3

lag

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verb

lag

3 of 3

noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word lag different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of lag are dally, dawdle, delay, loiter, and procrastinate. While all these words mean "to move or act slowly so as to fall behind," lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others.

lagging behind in technology

When might dally be a better fit than lag?

Although the words dally and lag have much in common, dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary.

stop dallying and get to work

When is delay a more appropriate choice than lag?

In some situations, the words delay and lag are roughly equivalent. However, delay usually implies a putting off of something (such as a beginning or departure).

we cannot delay any longer

How do loiter and dawdle relate to one another, in the sense of lag?

Both loiter and dawdle imply delay while in progress, especially in walking, but dawdle more clearly suggests an aimless wasting of time.

loitered at several store windows
children dawdling on their way home from school

In what contexts can procrastinate take the place of lag?

While in some cases nearly identical to lag, procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.

procrastinates about making decisions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lag
Adjective
When the Federal Reserve started to lift interest rates in 2022 and 2023 to combat inflation, new activity slowed, but with a lag. Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2025 Robotics and analytics can help patients build healthier habits around exercise and nutrition while reducing the lag between diagnosis and intervention. Theresa McDonnell, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
Faster speeds mean less lag and smoother use for multiple devices. Kara McGinley, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025 And some more good news for lovers of the distinctive fusillade produced by the original Impreza rally cars: this one keeps anti-lag, injecting fuel into the turbocharger to keep it spinning off-throttle. Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 21 June 2022
Noun
Biases in genetics research One reason why scientific understanding of secondary variants has lagged is that genetic research often depends on who is recruited to participate in these studies and how researchers recruit them. Santhosh Girirajan, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2025 City administrator echoes points other municipalities have stated Brown presented a series of slides and data pieces that, among other facts, showed the city has lagged further behind in terms of property revenue increases falling short of 3% inflation on existing services on average. Jim Riccioli, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lag
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lag
Adjective
  • Tactically, the most notable feature of the final was how regularly the two goalkeepers found themselves in bizarre positions, rushing out to close down attackers in wide areas.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
  • The largest came on the final play, as Texas couldn’t get back to the line of scrimmage in time to spike the ball and continue a possible game-tying drive.
    Noah White, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • As anger fades into apathy and grief is aggravated by guilt, the public also chooses silence.
    Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
  • While pie crust seems to be fading away, some chefs would rather think completely outside the box by creating a completely different crust.
    Amber Love Bond, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Treasury has not set a date for when the final draft will be decided, but the government shutdown may delay a final decision.
    Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Munich Airport in Germany briefly delayed the relaunch of flight operations on Saturday morning local time due to drone sightings, after previous UAV sightings earlier halted all traffic at the airport for several hours.
    Laura Sharman, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • China’s stockmarket soars despite slowdown China’s economy showed possible signs of a rebound from a long-term slump, while its stock market remains on a historic bull run.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • That would be a pickup from the 22,000 jobs added the previous month, but a big slowdown compared to the 240,000 jobs added this time last year.
    Scott Horsley, NPR, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The video is the latest in a lengthy stream of controversies the probation department has faced in recent years.
    James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2023
  • The shooting happened the day before the fifth anniversary of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that killed 17 and is the latest in what has become a deadly new year in the U.S.
    Joey Cappelletti and Mike Householder, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Feb. 2023
Verb
  • This can lead your soft tissues to sag into those gaps, causing your muscles to tense up in compensation.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Much of the composition is given to the trio of commissioners who, tasked with investigating charges of bias in the trial, upheld the verdict—their faces sagging and stony, their staid officiousness echoing the resolute lines of the courthouse behind them.
    Nicole Rudick, The New York Review of Books, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Linda also drags her daughter to a clinic for regular treatments, none of which seem to do any good.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
  • That was Emily, the fifer, dragging a man out of bed.
    Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • As the title suggests, its cast was entirely composed of couples in which one party was ready to get hitched, and the other had hesitations.
    James Factora, Them., 3 Oct. 2025
  • However, lofty goals often lead to significant hesitation or avoidance.
    Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 3 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Lag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lag. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

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