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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

lag

/læɡ/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:55
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What does lag mean?

adjective

  1. Late.
  2. Last made; hence, made of refuse; inferior.

noun

  1. A gap, a delay; an interval created by something not keeping up; a latency.
More meanings (18)

noun

  1. Delay; latency.
  2. (slang) A prisoner, a criminal.
  3. (slang) A period of imprisonment.
  4. A method of deciding which player is to start. Both players simultaneously strike a cue ball from the baulk line to hit the top cushion and rebound down the table; the player whose ball finishes closest to the baulk cushion wins.
  5. One who lags; that which comes in last.
  6. The fag-end; the rump; hence, the lowest class.
  7. A stave of a cask, drum, etc.; especially (engineering) one of the narrow boards or staves forming the covering of a cylindrical object, such as a boiler, or the cylinder of a carding machine or steam engine.
  8. Clipping of lag screw.
  9. A bird, the greylag.
  10. (archaic, slang) One sentenced to transportation for a crime.

verb

  1. To fail to keep up (the pace), to fall behind.
  2. To cover (for example, pipes) with felt strips or similar material.
  3. (informal) To respond slowly.
  4. (slang) To arrest or apprehend.
  5. To slacken
  6. (archaic, slang) To transport as a punishment for crime.

adjective

  1. Loose (inclined to play many starting hands, including weak ones) and aggressive (inclined to raise often).
  2. (obsolete) Last; long-delayed.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/læɡ/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Tension the control cables so that when the levers are smartly moved there is no perceptible snatch or lag.
H. (Horatio) BarberThe Aeroplane SpeaksProject Gutenberg ebook #818
There, I take it, They may, cum privilegio, oui away The lag end of their lewdness and be laughed at.
William ShakespeareThe Complete Works of William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg ebook #100
More book examples (3)
This time was found by measuring the amount of lag, and comparing it with the known velocity of the mirror.
John MunroHeroes of the TelegraphProject Gutenberg ebook #979
After a spell of a few weeks at sea, an iron ship begins to lag as if she had grown tired too soon.
Joseph ConradThe Mirror of the SeaProject Gutenberg ebook #1058
On no account should an elephant be let to lag behind, and no one should be allowed to rush forward or go in advance.
James InglisSport and Work on the Nepaul Frontier Twelve Years Sporting Reminiscences of an Indigo PlanterProject Gutenberg ebook #10818