What does "shag" mean?
Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.
Shag
/ʃæɡ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.
- Grammar: shag is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ass, bright, bring, bring back.
- Useful contrasts: abstain, ballroom dance, flattops.
- Usage evidence: Shag rugs were popular in the 1960s.
How to use "shag"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shag" 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 "shag" 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 "shag" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shag" 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 "shag" is acting as adj, 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 "ass" 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 "shag", 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 Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc. countable, uncountable
"Nor ſhould it prove thy leſs important Care, / To chuſe a proper Coat for Winter's Wear. / [...] / True Witney Broad-cloath with it's Shag unſhorn, / Unpierc'd is in the laſting Tempeſt worn: [...]"
- 2 Any of several species of sea birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant family), especially a common shag or European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), found on European and African coasts.
"He ran back and picked up a dead bird that had fallen. It was not a duck but a shag."
- 3 A swing dance. capitalized, sometimes
"Its evolutionary course is unclear; however, by the late thirties, Shag was all the rage both on and off college campuses. It became so popular, in fact, that a 1937 New York Times article describes it as “the fundamental dance step for swing.”"
- 4 A fundraising dance in honour of a couple engaged to be married. Northwestern, Ontario
- 5 Friend; mate; buddy. West-Country
"I'm fcuked then mate. Born and bred sarf london and the missarse is a brummie. Oh and her old man is a scouser!!¶ You all still sound like a bunch of inbreds though but it's better than the Hereford accent "alright shag where you be""
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 a lively dance step consisting of hopping on each foot in turn wordnet
- 7 Coarse shredded tobacco. countable, uncountable
"He was rather unshaven as well and smelt strongly of shag."
- 8 An act of sex. slang, vulgar
"They were in the midst of an intense snog, his tongue down her throat as he tried to work out if he wanted another shag before she left for the night, when an odd noise sounded from behind the door of 2B."
- 9 slang for sexual intercourse wordnet
- 10 A type of rough carpet pile. countable, uncountable
- 11 A casual sexual partner. slang, vulgar
"Lizzy is a shag extraordinaire, but has a tongue like a sailor and a castrating stare."
- 12 a fabric with long coarse nap wordnet
- 13 Bacon or fat, especially if with some remaining hair or bristles. Ireland, UK, archaic, countable, uncountable
- 14 a matted tangle of hair or fiber wordnet
- 15 A roughly-cut or torn-off piece of bread or cheese. Ireland, UK, archaic, countable, uncountable
"But it is a braw elemental sphere this o' ours, for here's a good queich o' claret for ye, an' a shag o' butter-an'-bread."
- 16 a strong coarse tobacco that has been shredded wordnet
- 17 A deliberately messy, shaggy hairstyle. attributive, countable, often, uncountable
"There was that hair salon on Yonge Street called House of Lords. On a Saturday – nowadays you can't even imagine it – but imagine a hair salon having a lineup outside of people wanting to get a shag haircut."
Verb
- 1 To make hairy or shaggy; to roughen. transitive
"He saw the pine its daring mantle rear, / Break the rude blast, and mock the brumal year / Shag the green zone that bounds the boreal skies, / And bid all southern vegetation rise."
- 2 To shake, wiggle around. intransitive
- 3 dance the shag wordnet
- 4 To hang in shaggy clusters. intransitive, obsolete
"And long curld locks that downe his shoulders shag"
- 5 To have sex with. Ireland, UK, slang, transitive, vulgar
"Every time since has been a disaster. Our sex life always has been. After k.b.ing me for ages, she’d eventually let me shag her."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 To have sex. Ireland, UK, intransitive, slang, vulgar
"I'm not pregnant! I have shagged and shagged and shagged and all the little bastards missed!"
- 7 To masturbate. India, slang, transitive, vulgar
- 8 To chase after; especially, to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play.
"Chris is off somewhere in the darkness, but I'm not going to shag after him."
- 9 To perform the dance called the shag. uncommon
"Showman Monte Proser tried to cash in on the boom on a mass basis with his Dance Carnival in Madison Square Garden, where dancers lindy hopped, shagged and fox-trotted to the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Larry Clinton and Charlie Barnett[…]"
Adjective
- 1 Hairy; shaggy. obsolete
"Son. Thou liest, thou shag-hair'd villain!"
- 2 Exhausted, worn out, extremely tired. Singapore, Singlish, slang
"I suppose they could not really blame us for feeling so shack after doing PT, drill and other boring lessons in the morning."
- 3 Tough and exhausting. Singapore, Singlish, slang
Example
"Shag rugs were popular in the 1960s."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shag"?
Common synonyms include: ass, bright, bring, bring back, bristle, burley.
How do you use "shag" in a sentence?
Shag rugs were popular in the 1960s.
How do you pronounce "shag"?
Pronounced /ʃæɡ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Old English sċeacga Middle English *schagge English shag From Middle English *schagge, from Old English sċeacga (“hair, wool”), from Proto-Germanic *skaggô, *skaggiją (“projection, bristly hair, stem”), *skag- (“to emerge, stick out, protrude”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek- (“to jump, move, hurry”). Akin to Old Norse skegg (“beard”) (compare Danish skæg, Norwegian skjegg, Swedish skägg). Related to shake and shock via the root.
Etymology 2
Unknown. Perhaps a derivative of Etymology 1, above, with reference to the bird's shaggy crest.
Etymology 3
From Middle English schaggen, a variant of Middle English schoggen (“to shake; shake off; tremble”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a byform of Middle English schokken (“to shake; move rapidly”), related to Middle Low German schokken (“to shake; tremble”). Alternatively, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skakkōną (“to shake”), specifically continuing a post-Proto-Germanic variant *skagg-, where the non-singular stem *skag- caused the analogical replacement of the stem-final voiceless geminate consonants with voiced geminates, which was then leveled throughout the paradigm.
Etymology 4
Blend of shower (“bridal shower”) + stag (“bachelor party”).
Etymology 5
Unknown.
Etymology 6
From shagged or shagged out, originally British colloquialisms.