What does "drag" mean?
Resistance of a fluid to something moving through it.
Drag
/dɹæɡ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Resistance of a fluid to something moving through it.
- Grammar: drag is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: draw, hale, pull, adduct.
- Useful contrasts: bold momentum, continuous push, danish skubbe.
- Usage evidence: The children would be a drag on me, so I want to go without them.
How to use "drag"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "drag" 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 "drag" 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 "drag" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "drag" 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 "drag" is acting as 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 "draw" 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.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "drag", 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 Resistance of a fluid to something moving through it. uncountable
"When designing cars, manufacturers have to take drag into consideration."
- 2 Women's clothing worn by men for the purpose of entertainment. slang, uncountable, usually
"He performed in drag."
- 3 Clipping of dragon. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, informal, uncommon
"the dragon gets a first shot off! although, afterwards, they attack at same speed, but trust me, drags attack first. Rayn ps. I'd rather gryphs than drags."
- 4 the act of dragging (pulling with force) wordnet
- 5 Any force acting in opposition to the motion of an object. countable, uncountable
"A high thrust-to-weight ratio helps a rocket to overcome the effects of gravity drag."
Show 33 more definitions
- 6 Women's clothing worn by men for the purpose of entertainment.; Men's clothing worn by women for the purpose of entertainment. slang, uncountable, usually
- 7 a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke) wordnet
- 8 A device dragged along the bottom of a body of water in search of something, e.g. a dead body, or in fishing. countable
- 9 A men's party attended in women's clothing. countable, slang, usually
"A heterosexual person cannot really break into their [homosexuals'] inner circles. They have parties or "drags" to which only homosexuals are admitted, and at these some generally appear in female dress."
- 10 clothing that is conventionally worn by the opposite sex (especially women's clothing when worn by a man) wordnet
- 11 A systematic search for someone over a wide area, especially by the authorities; a dragnet. countable, informal
""He told me that he was certain that Coates shot at him. We threw out a drag and landed Coates within an hour.""
- 12 A drag king or drag queen. countable, slang, usually
"1970-1975, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure That Mich drag Loretta sent me about 10 pictures of her so I wouldn't think her a "decrepit old lady." But too bad—she looked like someone's biddy aunt."
- 13 something tedious and boring wordnet
- 14 A double drum-stroke played at twice the speed of the context in which it is placed. countable
- 15 Any type of clothing or costume associated with a particular occupation or subculture. slang, uncountable, usually
"corporate drag"
- 16 something that slows or delays progress wordnet
- 17 A puff on a cigarette or joint. countable, informal
"He got high after just one drag of the joint."
- 18 the phenomenon of resistance to motion through a fluid wordnet
- 19 Someone or something that is annoying or frustrating, or disappointing; an obstacle to progress or enjoyment. countable, slang
"Travelling to work in the rush hour is a real drag."
- 20 A long open horse-drawn carriage with transverse or side seats. countable, slang
"I’m down here readin’ for my little go during the Long, only I come over from Baymouth pretty often in my drag…"
- 21 A street. countable, slang
"the main drag"
- 22 The scent-path left by dragging a fox, or some other substance such as aniseed, for training hounds to follow scents. countable
"to run a drag"
- 23 A large amount of backspin on the cue ball, causing the cue ball to slow down. uncountable
- 24 A heavy harrow for breaking up ground. countable, uncountable
- 25 A kind of sledge for conveying heavy objects; also, a kind of low car or handcart. countable, uncountable
"Near-synonyms: dray, stoneboat"
- 26 The bottom part of a sand casting mold. countable
- 27 A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone. countable, uncountable
- 28 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. countable, uncountable
- 29 Anything towed in the water to retard a ship's progress, or to keep her head up to the wind; especially, a canvas bag with a hooped mouth (drag sail), so used. countable, uncountable
- 30 A pulled load. countable, uncountable
"A northbound drag of furnace coal on the former South Yorkshire Joint Line crosses the East Coast main line near Black Carr behind Class "O4/1" 2-8-0 No. 63693."
- 31 A skid or shoe for retarding the motion of a carriage wheel. countable, uncountable
- 32 Motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged. countable, uncountable
"Had a drag in his walk."
- 33 Witch house music. uncountable
"“Our music is not like some other types where the energy is back and forth – music considered drag is like giving up oneself, to be pulled and controlled,” she says."
- 34 The last position in a line of hikers. countable, uncountable
"Okay, I'll take point, Kate, you take drag."
- 35 A push somewhat under the centre of the cue ball, causing it to follow the object ball a short way. countable, uncountable
- 36 A device for guiding wood to the saw. countable, uncountable
- 37 A mailcoach. countable, historical, uncountable
- 38 A prison sentence of three months. countable, slang, uncountable
"The sodger who done it was quodded, but only for a drag, and he swore to God as how he’d do for me the next time as he comed across me."
Verb
- 1 To pull along a surface or through a medium, sometimes with difficulty. transitive
"Let's drag this load of wood over to the shed."
- 2 To perform as a drag queen or drag king. informal, intransitive
- 3 proceed for an extended period of time wordnet
- 4 To proceed heavily, laboriously, or slowly; to advance with weary effort; to go on lingeringly.
"Time seems to drag when you're waiting for a bus."
- 5 persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting wordnet
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 To act or proceed slowly or without enthusiasm; to be reluctant.
"Dragging yourself out of a warm bed in the early hours of a wintry morning to go for a hike in the woods: It’s not an easy thing for some to do, but the visual treasures that await could be well worth the effort. If the weather conditions and the local flora are just right, you might come across fleeting, delicate frozen formations sprouting from certain plant stems, literally a garden of ice."
- 7 suck in or take (air) wordnet
- 8 To draw along (something burdensome); hence, to pass in pain or with difficulty.
"have dragged a lingering life"
- 9 search (as the bottom of a body of water) for something valuable or lost wordnet
- 10 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."
- 11 pull, as against a resistance wordnet
- 12 To operate a pointing device by moving it with a button held down; to move, copy, etc. (an item) in this way.
"Drag the file into the window to open it."
- 13 draw slowly or heavily wordnet
- 14 To unintentionally rub or scrape on a surface.
"The car was so low to the ground that its muffler was dragging on a speed bump."
- 15 walk without lifting the feet wordnet
- 16 To hit or kick off target.
"Arsenal were struggling for any sort of rhythm and Aaron Lennon dragged an effort inches wide as Tottenham pressed for a second."
- 17 to lag or linger behind wordnet
- 18 To fish with a dragnet.
- 19 move slowly and as if with great effort wordnet
- 20 To search for something, as a lost object or body, by dragging something along the bottom of a body of water.
- 21 use an input device to move objects on the screen, or to select items (such as commands from a menu); drag the slider to increase or decrease rate; drag the handles on the image to resize it wordnet
- 22 To break (land) by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow.
- 23 force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action wordnet
- 24 To search exhaustively, as if with a dragnet. figuratively
"while I dragged my brains for such a song"
- 25 To roast, say negative things about, or call attention to the flaws of (someone). slang
"You just drag him 'cause he's got more money than you."
- 26 To play at a slower tempo than one is supposed to or than the other musicians one is playing with, or to inadvertently gradually decrease tempo while one is playing. intransitive
- 27 To inhale from a cigarette, cigar, etc. informal, intransitive
Antonyms
bold momentumcontinuous pushdanish skubbedense crowd push
Example
"The children would be a drag on me, so I want to go without them."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "drag"?
Common synonyms include: draw, hale, pull, adduct, adduction, affinity.
How do you use "drag" in a sentence?
The children would be a drag on me, so I want to go without them.
How do you pronounce "drag"?
Pronounced /dɹæɡ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English draggen (“to drag”), early Middle English dragen (“to draw, carry”), confluence of Old English dragan (“to drag, draw, draw oneself, go, protract”) and Old Norse draga (“to draw, attract”); both from Proto-Germanic *draganą (“to draw, drag”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to draw, drag”). Verb sense influenced due to association with the noun drag (“that which is hauled or dragged”), related to Low German dragge (“a drag-anchor, grapnel”). Cognate with Danish drægge (“to dredge”), Danish drage (“to draw, attract”), Swedish dragga (“to drag, drag anchor, sweep”), Swedish draga (“to draw, go”), Icelandic draga (“to drag, pull”). Doublet of draw.
Etymology 2
Possibly from English drag (“to pull along a surface”) because of the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor, or from Yiddish טראָגן (trogn, “to wear”)