lag behind

When you can't keep up with your fellow marathon runners, you can say that you lag behind them.

The word lag describes a kind of slowness or delay. As a noun, it means a slowing: "The coach was disappointed by the lag in her swimmers' best times that day." When you lag behind someone, you fall back or don't measure up. A student who struggles with math, for example, might say that his grades lag behind his best friend's. In the 1550s, lag meant "last person."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF:lag

1	vn	hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.
2	n	one of several thin slats of wood forming the sides of a barrel or bucket
3	v	lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
4	v	cover with lagging to prevent heat loss
5	v	throw or pitch at a mark, as with coins

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: lag

1

vhang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.

Synonyms:

dawdle, fall back, fall behind

Types:

drag, drop back, drop behind, get behind, hang back,trail

to lag or linger behind

Type of:

follow

to travel behind, go after, come after

nthe act of slowing down or falling behind

Synonyms:

retardation, slowdown

Type of:

delay, holdup

the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time

nthe time between one event, process, or period and another

Synonyms:

interim, meantime, meanwhile

Types:

interregnum

the time between two reigns, governments, etc.

Type of:

interval, time interval

a definite length of time marked off by two instants

2

none of several thin slats of wood forming the sides of a barrel or bucket

Synonyms:

stave

Type of:

slat, spline

a thin strip (wood or metal)

3

vlock up or confine, in or as in a jail

Synonyms:

gaol, immure, imprison, incarcerate, jail, jug, put away,put behind bars, remand

Type of:

confine, detain

deprive of freedom; take into confinement

4

vcover with lagging to prevent heat loss

“lag pipes”

Type of:

cover

provide with a covering or cause to be covered

5

vthrow or pitch at a mark, as with coins

Type of:

flip, pitch, sky, toss

throw or toss with a light motion

LearnAdd to List...Thesaurus

WORD FAMILY

lag

lagged

lagging

lags

the "lag" family

USAGE EXAMPLES

• The increased forecast is a positive, but Morgan Stanley's wealth business has lagged major rivals on the measure.
  Reuters Jan 17, 2014
• Although Manchester United are lagging 11 points behind Arsenal, Mourinho is still expecting a tough game.
  Reuters Jan 17, 2014
• United, which will report fourth-quarter earnings next week, had beenlagging the industry on important performance points.
  Chicago Tribune Jan 17, 2014
• However, Japan looks set to disappoint and the euro zone will probably lag again compared with its Western peers.
  Reuters Jan 16, 2014

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