From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlaglag1 /læɡ/ ●○○ verb (lagged, lagging) 1 [intransitive, transitive]SLOW to move or develop more slowly than otherslag behind She stopped to wait for Ian who was lagging behind. Britain is lagging behind the rest of Europe.2 [transitive] British EnglishDH to cover water pipes etc with a special material to prevent the water inside them from freezing or the heat from being lost We’ve had the hot-water tank lagged.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lag• This year, private fund-raising for the museum has lagged.• At the same time in October, 56. 4 percent of companies beat estimates while just 32. 2 percent lagged.• Nails was ahead but Hoomey was lagging.• Cyclical, industrial stocks lagged badly amid disappointing earnings and worries about flagging economic growth.• Some sectors, moreover, lagged behind completely, by force of circumstances or on account of reluctance to abandon traditional ways.• In the total absence of black dancers, Covent Garden lags behind other ballet companies in the West.• Therapeutics may lag behind, possibly for decades, so I will abstain from discussing these aspects here.• Agriculture was lagging behind the general prosperity levels.lag behind• Sales figures are lagging behind last year's by 40 percent.• He deliberately lagged behind so he could have a cigarette.• We started walking faster, not wanting to lag behind the rest of the group.laglag2 noun [countable] DELAYa delay or period of waiting between one event and a second event a time lag → jet lag, old lagExamples from the Corpus
lag• But for a lag in publication caused by the war, his volume would have missed the story of the camps.• Another lag, for example, is that between changes in instruments and the achievement of the employment and prices objectives.• The jet lag induces a mild form of hallucination.• But there will inevitably be time lags and imprecision in the process.• No time lag should come between demand and supply.• With a variable lag the Fed would have to know the lag for each specific case in which it is considering policy.time lag• Given the complexity of this task there is always a time lag in the publication of mortality by cause of death data.• That there was a time lag heartened me.• As Chapter 4 noted, the average time lag between daily use and first contact with an agency was 2.6 years.• But there will inevitably be time lags and imprecision in the process.• No time lag should come between demand and supply.• But in a way that time lag, though it could be frustrating, was also a blessing in disguise.• The time lag in the nocturnal response is quite marked - averages point nine plus of a second greater.From Longman Business Dictionarylaglag1 /læg/ verb (lagged, lagging) [intransitive]1COMMERCEto move, develop, or improve more slowly than othersThe sales team are lagging in their progress towards this quarter’s performance goals.lag behindUS firms lag behind nations such as Germany in training their staff.2ECONOMICSto change in amount or level at a later time than something elseEven after the economy begins growing, hiring new employees tends to lag.The increase in wages lagged behind the increase in prices through much of the decade.3FINANCEif prices of shares, traded goods, etc lag, they do not increaseWhile silver has lagged, it hasn’t been as weak as platinum.→ See Verb tablelaglag2 noun [countable]1a delay in a change or improvement in somethingMore problematic over the long term is a lag in attitudes. The country was the least reform-minded in Eastern Europe.2ECONOMICSa period of time that passes before an amount or level changesThere’s usually a lag between an upturn in manufacturing activity and increased shipments of factory machinery.When taxes drop, the Massachusetts economy typically responds after a short lag, which used to be three years and now is half that. → time lagOrigin lag1 (1500-1600) Probably from a Scandinavian language 