lag
/læg/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A delay or interval: The time between one event, process, or period and another; a slowing down or falling behind.
- A slat of wood: One of several thin, often curved, strips of wood forming the sides of a barrel or bucket.
- (Informal, dated) A convict or prisoner: A person serving a sentence, especially at hard labor.
Verb:
- To fall behind: To move, progress, or develop more slowly than others; to hang back.
- To cover for insulation: To cover something (like a pipe or boiler) with a non-heat-conducting material to prevent heat loss.
- (Archaic) To arrest or imprison: To lock up or confine someone, as in a jail.
Examples of Usage
- Noun (Delay):
- There is a short lag between pressing the button and the camera taking the picture.
- The economic recovery showed a lag of several months after the policy change.
- Noun (Wooden slat):
- The old whiskey barrel was held together by metal hoops and wooden lags.
- Verb (Fall behind):
- The younger children began to lag behind the rest of the group on the hike.
- Sales have started to lag in the last quarter.
- Verb (Cover for insulation):
- It's important to lag the hot water pipes to improve energy efficiency.
Advanced Usage
- "Jet lag": A temporary disorder caused by traveling across time zones, characterized by fatigue and sleep disruption.
- It took me three days to get over the jet lag after my flight from Tokyo.
- "Time lag": A delay between a cause and its effect or between related events.
- There is a significant time lag between the implementation of a new law and its observable impact on society.
Variants and Related Words
- Lagger (n): A person who lags behind.
- Lagging (n): The material used to insulate pipes or boilers.
- The plumber installed new thermal lagging around the boiler.
Synonyms
- Delay (n): A period of time by which something is late or postponed.
- Fall behind (v): To fail to keep up with a pace or standard.
- Drag (v): To move slowly and with effort, causing delay.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Lag behind: To fail to maintain the pace or progress of someone or something else. This is the most common phrasal form.
- The company is lagging behind its competitors in adopting new technology.
Related Idioms
- "To lag far behind": To be significantly less advanced or successful than others.
- In terms of digital infrastructure, the rural areas lag far behind the cities.
Noun
- one of several thin slats of wood forming the sides of a barrel or bucket
- the time between one event, process, or period and another
- meanwhile the socialists are running the government
- the act of slowing down or falling behind
Verb
- cover with lagging to prevent heat loss
- lag pipes
- throw or pitch at a mark, as with coins
- lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
- The suspects were imprisoned without trial
- the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life
- hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.