/ læg; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb ( -gg- )
1.
[ v ] lag (behind sb/sth) | lag (behind) to move or develop slowly or more slowly than other people, organizations, etc.
SYN trail :
The little boy lagged behind his parents.
We still lag far behind many of our competitors in using modern technology.
2.
[ vn ] lag sth (with sth) ( BrE ) to cover pipes, etc. with a special material to stop the water in them from freezing, or to save heat
SYN insulate
■ noun
= time lag
—see also jet lag , old lag
••
WORD ORIGIN
verb sense 1 and noun early 16th cent. (as a noun in the sense hindmost person in a game, race, etc. , also dregs ): related to the dialect adjective lag (perhaps from a fanciful distortion of last (I), or of Scandinavian origin: compare with Norwegian dialect lagga go slowly).
verb sense 2 late 19th cent.: from earlier lag piece of insulating cover .