Adjacent Words

Drag definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DRAG, v.t. [G., L. See Drink and Drench.]
1. To pull; to haul; to draw along the ground by main force; applied particularly to drawing heavy things with labor, along the ground or other surface; as, to drag stone or timber; to drag a net in fishing. John
21:8.
2. To break land by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow; a common use of this word in New England.
3. To draw along slowly or heavily; to draw any thing burdensome; as, to drag a lingering life.
4. To draw along in contempt, as unworthy to be carried.
He drags me at his chariot-wheels.
To drag one in chains.
5. To pull or haul about roughly and forcibly.
In seamens language, to drag an anchor, is to draw or trail it along the bottom when loosened, or when the anchor will not hold the ship.
DRAG, v.i.
1. To hang so low as to trail on the ground.
2. To fish with a drag; as, they have been dragging for fish all day, with little success.
3. To be drawn along; as, the anchor drags.
4. To be moved slowly; to proceed heavily; as, this business drags.
5. To hang or grate on the floor, as a door.
DRAG, n.
1. Something to be drawn along the ground, as a net or a hook.
2. A particular kind of harrow.
3. A car; a low cart.
4. In sea-language, a machine consisting of a sharp square frame of iron, encircled with a net, used to take the wheel off from the platform or bottom of the decks.
5. Whatever is drawn; a boat in tow; whatever serves to retard a ships way.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the phenomenon of resistance to motion through a fluid [syn: drag, retarding force]
2: something that slows or delays progress; "taxation is a drag on the economy"; "too many laws are a drag on the use of new land"
3: something tedious and boring; "peeling potatoes is a drag"
4: clothing that is conventionally worn by the opposite sex (especially women's clothing when worn by a man); "he went to the party dressed in drag"; "the waitresses looked like missionaries in drag"
5: a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke); "he took a puff on his pipe"; "he took a drag on his cigarette and expelled the smoke slowly" [syn: puff, drag, pull]
6: the act of dragging (pulling with force); "the drag up the hill exhausted him" v
1: pull, as against a resistance; "He dragged the big suitcase behind him"; "These worries were dragging at him"
2: draw slowly or heavily; "haul stones"; "haul nets" [syn: haul, hale, cart, drag]
3: force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action; "They were swept up by the events"; "don't drag me into this business" [syn: embroil, tangle, sweep, sweep up, drag, drag in]
4: move slowly and as if with great effort
5: to lag or linger behind; "But in so many other areas we still are dragging" [syn: drag, trail, get behind, hang back, drop behind, drop back]
6: suck in or take (air); "draw a deep breath"; "draw on a cigarette" [syn: puff, drag, draw]
7: use a computer mouse to move icons on the screen and select commands from a menu; "drag this icon to the lower right hand corner of the screen"
8: walk without lifting the feet [syn: scuff, drag]
9: search (as the bottom of a body of water) for something valuable or lost [syn: dredge, drag]
10: persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting; "He dragged me away from the television set"
11: proceed for an extended period of time; "The speech dragged on for two hours" [syn: drag, drag on, drag out]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English dragge, probably from Middle Low German draggen grapnel; akin to Old English dragan to draw — more at draw Date: 14th century 1. something used to drag with; especially a device for dragging under water to detect or obtain objects 2. something that is dragged, pulled, or drawn along or over a surface: as a. harrow b. a sledge for conveying heavy bodies c. conveyance 3. a. the act or an instance of dragging or drawing: as (1) a drawing along or over a surface with effort or pressure (2) motion effected with slowness or difficulty; also the condition of having or seeming to have such motion (3) a draw on a pipe, cigarette, or cigar; also a draft of liquid b. a movement, inclination, or retardation caused by or as if by dragging c. slang influence securing special favor ; pull 4. a. something that retards motion, action, or advancement b. (1) the retarding force acting on a body (as an airplane) moving through a fluid (as air) parallel and opposite to the direction of motion (2) friction between engine parts; also retardation due to friction c. burden, encumbrance <the drag of population growth on living standards> d. one that is boring or gets in the way of enjoyment <thinks studying is a drag> <this sickly kid is going to be a social drag — Edmund Morris> 5. a. an object drawn over the ground to leave a scented trail b. a clog fastened to a trap to prevent the escape of a trapped animal 6. street, road <the main drag> 7. a. costume, outfit <in Victorian drag> b. clothing typical of one sex worn by a person of the opposite sex — often used in the phrase in drag 8. drag race II. verb (dragged; dragging) Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. a. (1) to draw slowly or heavily ; haul (2) to cause (as oneself) to move with slowness or difficulty <dragged myself up the stairs> (3) to cause to trail along a surface <wandered off dragging the leash> b. (1) to bring by or as if by force or compulsion <had to drag her husband to the opera> (2) to extract by or as if by pulling c. protract <drag a story out> 2. a. to pass a drag over <drag a field> b. to explore with a drag <drag a pond> c. to catch with a dragnet 3. to hit (a drag bunt) while moving toward first base 4. to move (items on a computer screen) especially by means of a mouse intransitive verb 1. to hang or lag behind 2. to fish or search with a drag 3. to trail along on the ground 4. a. to move slowly because of fatigue <was dragging after the long trip> b. to proceed or continue laboriously or tediously <the lawsuit dragged on for years> 5. draw 4a <drag on a cigarette> 6. to make a plucking or pulling movement 7. to participate in a drag race • draggingly adverb III. adjective Date: 1887 of, being, involving, or intended for a person in drag <a drag ball>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (dragged, dragging) 1 tr. pull along with effort or difficulty. 2 a tr. allow (one's feet, tail, etc.) to trail along the ground. b intr. trail along the ground. c intr. (of time etc.) go or pass heavily or slowly or tediously. 3 a intr. (usu. foll. by for) use a grapnel or drag (to find a drowned person or lost object). b tr. search the bottom of (a river etc.) with grapnels, nets, or drags. 4 tr. (often foll. by to) colloq. take (a person to a place etc., esp. against his or her will). 5 intr. (foll. by on, at) draw on (a cigarette etc.). 6 intr. (often foll. by on) continue at tedious length. --n. 1 a an obstruction to progress. b Aeron. the longitudinal retarding force exerted by air. c slow motion; impeded progress. d an iron shoe for retarding a horse-drawn vehicle downhill. 2 colloq. a boring or dreary person, duty, performance, etc. 3 a a strong-smelling lure drawn before hounds as a substitute for a fox. b a hunt using this. 4 an apparatus for dredging or recovering drowned persons etc. from under water. 5 = drag-net. 6 sl. a draw on a cigarette etc. 7 sl. a women's clothes worn by men. b a party at which these are worn. c clothes in general. 8 an act of dragging. 9 a sl. a motor car. b (in full drag race) an acceleration race between cars usu. for a quarter of a mile. 10 US sl. influence, pull. 11 US sl. a street or road (the main drag). 12 hist. a private vehicle like a stagecoach, drawn by four horses. Phrases and idioms: drag anchor (of a ship) move from a moored position when the anchor fails to hold. drag-anchor n. = sea anchor. drag one's feet (or heels) be deliberately slow or reluctant to act. drag-hound a hound used to hunt with a drag. drag in introduce (a subject) irrelevantly. drag-line an excavator with a bucket pulled in by a wire rope. drag-net 1 a net drawn through a river or across ground to trap fish or game. 2 a systematic hunt for criminals etc. drag out protract. drag queen sl. a male homosexual transvestite. drag up colloq. 1 deliberately mention (an unwelcome subject). 2 rear (a child) roughly and without proper training. Etymology: ME f. OE dragan or ON draga DRAW

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Drag Drag, n. [See Drag, v. t., and cf. Dray a cart, and 1st Dredge.] 1. The act of dragging; anything which is dragged. 2. A net, or an apparatus, to be drawn along the bottom under water, as in fishing, searching for drowned persons, etc. 3. A kind of sledge for conveying heavy bodies; also, a kind of low car or handcart; as, a stone drag. 4. A heavy coach with seats on top; also, a heavy carriage. [Collog.] --Thackeray. 5. A heavy harrow, for breaking up ground. 6. (a) Anything towed in the water to retard a ship's progress, or to keep her head up to the wind; esp., a canvas bag with a hooped mouth, so used. See Drag sail (below). (b) Also, a skid or shoe, for retarding the motion of a carriage wheel. (c) Hence, anything that retards; a clog; an obstacle to progress or enjoyment. My lectures were only a pleasure to me, and no drag. --J. D. Forbes. 7. Motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged. ``Had a drag in his walk.'' -- Hazlitt. 8. (Founding) The bottom part of a flask or mold, the upper part being the cope. 9. (Masonry) A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone. 10. (Marine Engin.) The difference between the speed of a screw steamer under sail and that of the screw when the ship outruns the screw; or between the propulsive effects of the different floats of a paddle wheel. See Citation under Drag, v. i., 3. Drag sail (Naut.), a sail or canvas rigged on a stout frame, to be dragged by a vessel through the water in order to keep her head to the wind or to prevent drifting; -- called also drift sail, drag sheet, drag anchor, sea anchor, floating anchor, etc. Drag twist (Mining), a spiral hook at the end of a rod for cleaning drilled holes.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Drag Drag, v. i. 1. To be drawn along, as a rope or dress, on the ground; to trail; to be moved onward along the ground, or along the bottom of the sea, as an anchor that does not hold. 2. To move onward heavily, laboriously, or slowly; to advance with weary effort; to go on lingeringly. The day drags through, though storms keep out the sun. --Byron. Long, open panegyric drags at best. -- Gay. 3. To serve as a clog or hindrance; to hold back. A propeller is said to drag when the sails urge the vessel faster than the revolutions of the screw can propel her. --Russell. 4. To fish with a dragnet.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Drag Drag, n. [See 3d Dredge.] A confection; a comfit; a drug. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Drag Drag, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dragged; p. pr. & vb. n. Dragging.] [OE. draggen; akin to Sw. dragga to search with a grapnel, fr. dragg grapnel, fr. draga to draw, the same word as E. draw. ? See Draw.] 1. To draw slowly or heavily onward; to pull along the ground by main force; to haul; to trail; -- applied to drawing heavy or resisting bodies or those inapt for drawing, with labor, along the ground or other surface; as, to drag stone or timber; to drag a net in fishing. Dragged by the cords which through his feet were thrust. --Denham. The grossness of his nature will have weight to drag thee down. --Tennyson. A needless Alexandrine ends the song That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along. --Pope. 2. To break, as land, by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow; to draw a drag along the bottom of, as a stream or other water; hence, to search, as by means of a drag. Then while I dragged my brains for such a song. --Tennyson. 3. To draw along, as something burdensome; hence, to pass in pain or with difficulty. Have dragged a lingering life. -- Dryden. To drag an anchor (Naut.), to trail it along the bottom when the anchor will not hold the ship. Syn: See Draw.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(drags, dragging, dragged) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you drag something, you pull it along the ground, often with difficulty. He got up and dragged his chair towards the table. VERB: V n prep/adv 2. To drag a computer image means to use the mouse to move the position of the image on the screen, or to change its size or shape. (COMPUTING) Use your mouse to drag the pictures to their new size. VERB: V n 3. If someone drags you somewhere, they pull you there, or force you to go there by physically threatening you. The vigilantes dragged the men out of the vehicles... VERB: V n prep/adv 4. If someone drags you somewhere you do not want to go, they make you go there. When you can drag him away from his work, he can also be a devoted father... VERB: V n adv/prep 5. If you say that you drag yourself somewhere, you are emphasizing that you have to make a very great effort to go there. I find it really hard to drag myself out and exercise regularly. VERB: V pron-refl adv/prep [emphasis] 6. If you drag your foot or your leg behind you, you walk with great difficulty because you foot or leg is injured in some way. He was barely able to drag his poisoned leg behind him... VERB: V n prep 7. If the police drag a river or lake, they pull nets or hooks across the bottom of it in order to look for something. Yesterday police frogmen dragged a small pond on the Common. VERB: V n 8. If a period of time or an event drags, it is very boring and seems to last a long time. The minutes dragged past... The pacing was uneven, and the early second act dragged. VERB: V adv, V 9. If something is a drag on the development or progress of something, it slows it down or makes it more difficult. Spending cuts will put a drag on growth. N-SING: a N on n 10. If you say that something is a drag, you mean that it is unpleasant or very dull. (INFORMAL) N-SING: a N, oft N to-inf [disapproval] 11. If you take a drag on a cigarette or pipe that you are smoking, you take in air through it. (INFORMAL) N-COUNT: oft N on n 12. Drag is the wearing of women's clothes by a male entertainer. N-UNCOUNT: oft N n • If a man is in drag, he is wearing women's clothes. The band dressed up in drag. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR 13. If you drag your feet or drag your heels, you delay doing something or do it very slowly because you do not want to do it. The government, he claimed, was dragging its feet. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Draw, pull, haul, tug, draw heavily and slowly. II. v. n. 1. Trail, be drawn along. 2. Linger, move slowly, make slow progress.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To go on the drag; to follow a cart or waggon, in order to rob it. Cant.

Moby Thesaurus

adduct, adduction, affinity, aggravation, allurement, amble, annoyance, arrest, artery, attract, attractance, attraction, attractiveness, attractivity, avenue, bad news, bag, bale, barge, be magnetic, be prolonged, bearing rein, bedevilment, bit, block, bore, bother, botheration, bothersomeness, boulevard, bowl along, brake, bundle, burden, burdening, burthen, buttonholer, capillarity, capillary attraction, cargo, cascade, centripetal force, chain, chain-smoke, charge, charging, chaw, check, checkrein, chew, chewing, chock, claudicate, clog, clout, clump, coax, coefficient of friction, confine, countercheck, crashing bore, crawl, creep, cumber, cumbrance, curb, curb bit, dab, daggle, dally, damper, dangle, dawdle, deadweight, deceleration, delay, depend, detain, detention, devilment, difficulty, dillydally, distract, dogging, dogtrot, doorstop, downer, drabble, draft, drag along, drag on, drag out, drag sail, draggle, drain, drape, draw, draw towards, drench, dress, drift anchor, drift sail, drip, drogue, droop, dryasdust, dub, dusty, ease-off, ease-up, encumbrance, equalize, even, exasperation, fall, fall behind, falter, favor, fetter, flag, flagging, flap, flat tire, flatten, flop, flounce, flow, fluid friction, foot, footslog, force of friction, force of viscosity, freight, friction head, friction loss, frictional resistance, frightful bore, gait, gallop, get behind, go dead slow, go on, go slow, goof off, grade, gravitation, gravity, grease, habitual smoking, hale, halt, handicap, hang, hang back, hang down, harassment, harrow, harrying, haul, have an attraction, headache, heave, highway, hinder, hippety-hop, hitch, hobble, hold back, hold up, holdback, holdup, hop, hounding, humdrum, idle, impede, in, inch, inch along, incubus, incumbency, induce, influence, inhale, inhale snuff, inside track, interest, internal friction, jog, jog-trot, jolt, jump, keep back, lading, lag, lag behind, lallygag, lay, laze, letdown, letup, level, limp, linger, linger behind, linger on, load, loading, lock step, loiter, lollygag, lop, lubricate, lug, lumber, lunge, lurch, lure, magnet, magnetism, magnetize, make late, martingale, millstone, mince, mincing steps, minus acceleration, molestation, mosey, mow, mutual attraction, nicotine addiction, nicotinism, nod, nuisance, obstruct, obstruction, oil, oppression, overload, overtaxing, overweighting, pace, paddle, path, peg, pelham, pend, persecution, persuade, pest, piaffe, piaffer, pill, plane, planish, plaster, plod, poke, poke along, potter, prance, pressure, problem, procrastinate, proser, puff, pull, pull towards, pulling power, put off, rack, remora, resistance, retard, retardation, retardment, road, roll, rolling friction, saddling, sag, sashay, saunter, scotch, scuff, scuffle, scuttle, sea anchor, setback, shackle, shamble, shave, shilly-shally, shuffle, shuffle along, sidle, single-foot, skin friction, skip, slack-up, slacken, slackening, sliding friction, slink, slip friction, slither, slog, slouch, slow down, slowdown, slowing, slowing down, slowness, slowup, smoke, smoking, smoking habit, smooth, smooth down, smooth out, snaffle, snake, special favor, spoke, stagger, stagger along, stalk, stall, stamp, starting friction, static friction, stay, step, stomp, stop, straddle, straggle, strain, street, stride, stroll, strolling gait, strut, stump, suction, superincumbency, surcharge, swag, swagger, swill, swing, sympathy, tabacism, tabacosis, tabagism, take in tow, take snuff, tarry, taxing, thoroughfare, tittup, tobaccoism, toddle, toddle along, totter, totter along, tow, track, traction, trail, trail behind, train, traipse, trammel, trawl, tread, trial, trip, troll, trot, trouble, trudge, tug, twaddler, velocity, vexation, vexatiousness, waddle, walk, wamble, waste time, way, wear on, weep, wet blanket, wheedle, wiggle, wobble, worm, worm along, worriment, worry