What does "fag" mean?
In textile inspections, a rough or coarse defect in the woven fabric.
Fag
/fæɡ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: In textile inspections, a rough or coarse defect in the woven fabric.
- Grammar: fag is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cigarette, auntie, beast of burden, beat.
- Useful contrasts: compliment, easy task, energize.
- Usage evidence: Sami called Farid a little fag.
How to use "fag"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fag" 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 "fag" 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 "fag" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fag" 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 "fag" 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 "cigarette" 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 "fag", 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 In textile inspections, a rough or coarse defect in the woven fabric. US
- 2 A chore: an arduous and tiresome task. Ireland, UK, archaic, colloquial
"We are sadly off in the country; not but what we have very good shops in Salisbury, but it is so far to go—eight miles is a long way; Mr. Allen says it is nine, measured nine; but I am sure it cannot be more than eight; and it is such a fag—I come back tired to death."
- 3 A homosexual man, especially (usually derogatory) an effeminate or unusual one. Canada, US, endearing, offensive, sometimes, usually, vulgar
"[1921 John Lind, The Female Impersonators (Historical Documentation of American Slang v. 1, A-G, edited by Jonathan E. Lighter (New York: Random House, 1994) page 716. Androgynes known as “fairies,” “fags,” or “brownies.”]"
- 4 finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking wordnet
- 5 A cigarette. Ireland, UK, colloquial
"He′d Phase Out Fag Industry Los Angeles (UPI) - A UCLA professor has called for the phasing out of the cigarette industry by converting tobacco acres to other crops."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A younger student acting as a servant for senior students. Ireland, UK, colloquial, historical
"I had the character at ſchool of being the very beſt fag that ever came into it."
- 7 An annoying person. US, derogatory, offensive, vulgar
"Why did you do that, you fag?"
- 8 offensive term for a homosexual man wordnet
- 9 The worst part or end of a thing. Ireland, UK, colloquial, obsolete
"Fag, s. the worst part or end of anything."
Verb
- 1 To make exhausted, tired out. archaic, colloquial, transitive
- 2 exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress wordnet
- 3 To droop; to tire. archaic, colloquial, intransitive
"a. 1829, G. Mackenzie, Lives, quoted in 1829, "Fag", entry in The London Encyclopaedia: Or, Universal Dictionary, Volume 9, page 12, Creighton with-held his force 'till the Italian began to fag, and then brought him to the ground."
- 4 work hard wordnet
- 5 Of a younger student, to act as a servant for senior students in many British boarding schools. Ireland, UK, colloquial, historical, intransitive
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 act as a servant for older boys, in British public schools wordnet
- 7 To have (a younger student) act as a servant in this way. Ireland, UK, colloquial, historical, transitive
"It is everywhere observed that a liberated slave is apt to make a merciless master, and that boys who have been cruelly fagged at school are cruel faggers."
- 8 To work hard, especially on menial chores. Ireland, UK, archaic, intransitive
"This state of things should have been to me a paradise of peace, accustomed as I was to a life of ceaseless reprimand and thankless fagging; but, in fact, my racked nerves were now in such a state that no calm could soothe, and no pleasure excite them agreeably."
Antonyms
Example
"Sami called Farid a little fag."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "fag"?
Common synonyms include: cigarette, auntie, beast of burden, beat, bi-guy, bisexual.
How do you use "fag" in a sentence?
Sami called Farid a little fag.
How do you pronounce "fag"?
Pronounced /fæɡ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Probably from fag end (“remnant”), from Middle English fagge (“flap”).
Etymology 2
Akin to flag (“droop, tire”). Compare Dutch vaak (“sleepiness”).
Etymology 3
Clipping of faggot.