What does "dag" mean?
A hanging end or shred, in particular a long pointed strip of cloth at the edge of a piece of clothing, or one of a row of decorative strips of cloth that may ornament a tent, booth or fairground.
Dag
/dæɡ/ intj, noun, verb, slang
intj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hanging end or shred, in particular a long pointed strip of cloth at the edge of a piece of clothing, or one of a row of decorative strips of cloth that may ornament a tent, booth or fairground.
- Grammar: dag is listed as intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: daggings, daglock, decagram, dekagram.
- Useful contrasts: clean fleece, clean wool, cyclic graph.
- Usage evidence: As said by Dag, I wrote, "It was the most delicious." on the guest-book of the restaurant yesterday.
How to use "dag"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dag" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dag" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dag" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dag" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dag" is acting as intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "daggings" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dag", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hanging end or shred, in particular a long pointed strip of cloth at the edge of a piece of clothing, or one of a row of decorative strips of cloth that may ornament a tent, booth or fairground.
- 2 A skewer.
- 3 One who dresses unfashionably or without apparent care about appearance; someone who is not cool; a dweeb or nerd. Australia, derogatory, slang
"2004 July 25, Debbie Kruger, Melbourne Weekly Magazine, All the World's a Stage, Now, wide-eyed and unfashionably excited ("I’m such a dag!" she remarks several times), she has the leading role of Viola in the Bell Shakespeare Company’s production of Twelfth Night, opening on August 10 at the Victorian Arts Centre Playhouse."
- 4 A misty shower; dew.
- 5 A directed acyclic graph; an ordered pair (V,E) such that E is a subset of some partial ordering relation on V.
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 Pronunciation spelling of dog. Ireland, alt-of, pronunciation-spelling
"Mickey: Dags! D' ya like dags?"
- 7 Ellipsis of Dagwood sandwich. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 8 Initialism of deputy attorney general. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 9 a flap along the edge of a garment; used in medieval clothing wordnet
- 10 A dangling lock of sheep’s wool matted with dung.
"To see the dunged folds of dag-tayled sheepe."
- 11 A spit, a sharpened rod used for roasting food over a fire.
- 12 An odd or eccentric person; someone who is a bit strange but amusingly so. Australia, New-Zealand, obsolete, slang
- 13 Ellipsis of dag sandwich. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 14 Acronym of directed acyclic graph. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 15 10 grams wordnet
- 16 A dagger; a poniard. obsolete
"Even when my dag was levelled at his heart"
- 17 Initialism of defense acquisition guide. US, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 18 A kind of large pistol. obsolete
"The Spaniards discharged their dags, and hurt some."
- 19 Initialism of diacylglycerol. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 20 The unbranched antler of a young deer.
Verb
- 1 To shear the hindquarters of a sheep in order to remove dags or prevent their formation.
"Blade shearers could shear, crutch, mules or dag sheep anywhere they were needed."
- 2 To skewer food, for roasting over a fire transitive
- 3 To be misty; to drizzle. UK, dialectal
- 4 To cut or slash the edge of a garment into dags transitive
- 5 To sully; to make dirty; to bemire. dialectal, obsolete
"Vexing the baths with his dagg'd rout."
Intj
- 1 Expressing shock, awe or surprise; used as a general intensifier. US, informal
"Dag, yo."
Antonyms
clean fleececlean woolcyclic graphfashion plate
Example
"As said by Dag, I wrote, "It was the most delicious." on the guest-book of the restaurant yesterday."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dag"?
Common synonyms include: daggings, daglock, decagram, dekagram, dirtball, dirty fleece.
How do you use "dag" in a sentence?
As said by Dag, I wrote, "It was the most delicious." on the guest-book of the restaurant yesterday.
How do you pronounce "dag"?
Pronounced /dæɡ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English dagge, of uncertain (probably Germanic) origin, cognate with (Middle) Dutch dag, dagge, dagh. The sense "dangling lock of wool, matted with dung" (originally from the dialect of Kent) is also termed "daglock" (derived from the "hanging end" sense of "dag") or "daggle-lock" and some sources consider the sense a shortening of that longer word rather than a mere evolution of the "hanging end" sense.
Etymology 2
From Old French dague (from Old Occitan dague, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *daca (“Dacian knife”), from the Roman province Dacia (roughly modern Romania); the ending is possibly the faintly pejorative -ard suffix, as in poignard (“dagger”)); cognate with dagger.
Etymology 3
N-less (or nonnasal) variant of dang, a euphemism for damn.
Etymology 4
Perhaps a back-formation from daggy, or, a specialised sense of British dialect dag, a daring feat amongst boys.
Etymology 5
Of North Germanic origin; compare Swedish dagg. Doublet of dew.
Etymology 6
Abbreviations * Initialism of directed acyclic graph. * Clipping of dagwood.
Etymology 7
Clipping of Dagwood.