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lagging

1 American  
[lag-ing] / ˈlæg ɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of falling or staying behind.

adjective

  1. lingering; loitering; slow and dragging.

    lagging steps.
lagging 2 American  
[lag-ing] / ˈlæg ɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of covering a boiler, oil tank, etc., with heat-insulating material.

  2. the covering formed.

  3. the material used.

  4. a number of boards or the like joined together side by side to line an excavation.

  5. Masonry. a number of lags, taken as a whole.

lagging British  
/ ˈlæɡɪŋ /

noun

  1. insulating material wrapped around pipes, boilers, etc, or laid in a roof loft, to prevent loss of heat

  2. the act or process of applying lagging

  3. a wooden frame used to support an arch during construction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • laggingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of lagging1

First recorded in 1590–1600; lag 1 + -ing 1, -ing 2 ( def. )

Origin of lagging2

First recorded in 1850–55; lag 3 + -ing 1

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.

My body was so fatigued by this point that all the stabilizer muscles in my ankles and feet were lagging.

From The Wall Street Journal

A local 2024 market analysis showed Telluride lagging behind the competition.

From The Wall Street Journal

But remember that death crosses are lagging indicators.

From Barron's

Relative performance also has deteriorated since the start of 2025, with the stock lagging behind its financial peers.

From Barron's

This matches the natural speed of the fluctuations themselves, rather than lagging seconds or minutes behind as older methods did.

From Science Daily

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.