a drag

Idioms

A tedious experience, a bore, as in After several thousand times, signing your autograph can be a drag. This seemingly modern term was army slang during the Civil War. The allusion probably is to drag as something that impedes progress. [Colloquial; mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Question marks over the sustainability of AI investing have been a drag for other risk-on assets such as cryptocurrencies.

From Barron's

Tech’s underperformance was the big story of the day with Nvidia continuing to be a drag despite its solid earnings beat yesterday.

From Barron's

It was a drag at the beginning.

From Los Angeles Times

At the same time, insufficient funding, disproportionate outlays for salaries and pensions, and a domestic defense industry dominated by a sclerotic public sector have long been a drag on India’s military modernization.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023