lag1

[lag] /læg/
verb (used without object), lagged, lagging.
1.
to fail to maintain a desired pace or to keep up; fall or stay behind:
After five minutes of hard running, some of them began to lag.
2.
to move or develop slowly, as toward a goal or objective, or in relation to an associated factor (often followed by behind):
to lag behind in production.
3.
to delay or fail in reaching full development:
The factory lags regularly in making its quota.
4.
to hang back; linger; delay:
The old friends lagged because they wanted to talk some more.
5.
to decrease, wane, or flag gradually, as in intensity:
Interest lagged as the meeting went on.
6.
Marbles. to throw one's shooting marble toward a line (lag line) on the ground in order to decide on the order of play.
7.
Billiards, Pool. string (def 17b).
verb (used with object), lagged, lagging.
8.
to fail to keep up with:
The industry still lags the national economy.
9.
Obsolete. to cause to lag.
noun
10.
a lagging or falling behind; retardation.
11.
a person who lags behind, is the last to arrive, etc.
12.
an interval or lapse of time:
There was a developmental lag in the diffusion of ideas.
13.
Mechanics. the amount of retardation of some motion.
14.
Electricity. the retardation of one alternating quantity, as current, with respect to another related alternating quantity, as voltage, often expressed in degrees.
15.
Marbles, Billiards. the act of lagging.
Origin
1505-15; < Scandinavian: compare Norwegian lagga to go slowly
Synonyms
1. loiter, linger. 10. slowing, slowdown.
Antonyms
1. hasten.

lag2

[lag] /læg/
verb (used with object), lagged, lagging.
1.
to send to penal servitude; imprison.
noun
2.
a convict or ex-convict.
3.
a period or term of penal servitude; prison sentence.
Origin
1565-75; origin uncertain

lag3

[lag] /læg/
noun
1.
one of the staves or strips that form the periphery of a wooden drum, the casing of a steam cylinder, or the like.
2.
Masonry. a crosspiece between ribs in a centering.
verb (used with object), lagged, lagging.
3.
to line or cover (an excavation) with lagging.
4.
to cover with insulation, as a steam boiler, to prevent radiation of heat.
Origin
1665-75; < Scandinavian; compare Swedish lagg stave
Examples from the web for lag
  • Many federal agencies also lag in submitting relevant records to the system.
  • Womens recruiting budgets continue to lag behind mens in many big-time programs.
  • If the current recovery is indeed jobless, wages will continue to lag.
  • But studies lag on the blooms, which depend on a complex interplay of factors.
  • Melatonin supplements are popular for self-treating insomnia or jet lag.
  • Otherwise, the lag time could leave you missing an important destination.
  • Since then, however, unemployment has seemed to follow the turnaround in capacity utilization only with a long lag.
  • But they have tended to lag behind in terms of their profitability.
  • Ocean temperatures will lag because it is such a huge volume.
  • Punch the gas and power is instantaneous and dramatic, with not even a hint of turbo lag.
British Dictionary definitions for lag

lag1

/læɡ/
verb (intransitive) lags, lagging, lagged
1.
(often foll by behind) to hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc
2.
to fall away in strength or intensity
3.
to determine an order of play in certain games, as by rolling marbles towards a line or, in billiards, hitting cue balls up the table against the top cushion in an attempt to bring them back close to the headrail
noun
4.
the act or state of slowing down or falling behind
5.
the interval of time between two events, esp between an action and its effect
6.
an act of lagging in a game, such as billiards
Word Origin
C16: of obscure origin

lag2

/læɡ/
noun
1.
a convict or ex-convict (esp in the phrase old lag)
2.
a term of imprisonment
verb lags, lagging, lagged
3.
(transitive) to arrest or put in prison
Word Origin
C19: of unknown origin

lag3

/læɡ/
verb lags, lagging, lagged
1.
(transitive) to cover (a pipe, cylinder, etc) with lagging to prevent loss of heat
noun
2.
the insulating casing of a steam cylinder, boiler, etc; lagging
3.
a stave or lath
Word Origin
C17: of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish lagg stave
Word Origin and History for lag
v.

"fail to keep pace," 1520s, earlier as a noun meaning "last person" (1510s), later also as an adjective (1550s; e.g. lag-mon "last man"), all of uncertain relationship, possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Norwegian lagga "go slowly"), or some dialectal version of last, lack, or delay. Related: Lag; lagging. The noun meaning "retardation" is from 1855. First record of lag time is from 1951.

Slang definitions & phrases for lag

lag

noun

A convict: lags who escape from the county pokey (1930s+ Underworld)

verb

To arrest or imprison a criminal (1940s+ Underworld)


lag in Technology


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