drag

drag

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of drag in English

English Online Dictionary. What means drag‎? What does drag mean?

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: drăg, IPA(key): /dɹæɡ/
  • Rhymes: -æɡ

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.

Noun

drag (countable and uncountable, plural drags)

  1. (physics, uncountable) Resistance of a fluid to something moving through it.
  2. (by analogy with above) Any force acting in opposition to the motion of an object.
  4. (countable, foundry) The bottom part of a sand casting mold.
    Coordinate term: cope
  5. (countable) A device dragged along the bottom of a body of water in search of something, e.g. a dead body, or in fishing.
  6. (countable, informal) A systematic search for someone over a wide area, especially by the authorities; a dragnet.
  7. (countable, music) A double drum-stroke played at twice the speed of the context in which it is placed.
  8. (countable, informal) A puff on a cigarette or joint.
    Synonyms: lug, pull
  9. (countable, slang) Someone or something that is annoying or frustrating, or disappointing; an obstacle to progress or enjoyment.
    • December 24, 1865, James David Forbes, letter to Dr. Symonds
      My lectures […] were only a pleasure to me, and no drag.
  10. (countable, slang) A long open horse-drawn carriage with transverse or side seats. [from mid-18th c.]
  11. (countable, slang) A street. [from mid-19th c.]
  12. (countable) The scent-path left by dragging a fox, or some other substance such as aniseed, for training hounds to follow scents.
  13. (uncountable, snooker) A large amount of backspin on the cue ball, causing the cue ball to slow down.
  14. A heavy harrow for breaking up ground.
  15. A kind of sledge for conveying heavy objects; also, a kind of low car or handcart.
  16. (metallurgy) The bottom part of a flask or mould, the upper part being the cope.
  17. (masonry) A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone.
  18. (nautical) 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.
  19. 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.
  20. A pulled load.
  21. A skid or shoe for retarding the motion of a carriage wheel.
  22. Motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged.
  24. (uncountable, music) Witch house music.
  25. The last position in a line of hikers.
  26. (billiards) A push somewhat under the centre of the cue ball, causing it to follow the object ball a short way.
  27. A device for guiding wood to the saw.
  28. (historical) A mailcoach.
  29. (slang) A prison sentence of three months.
    • 1869, A Merchant. Editor: Frank Henderson, Six Years in the Prisons of England
      The copper knew I did that job, and had me up on suspicion some time after, and gave me a drag (three months) over it. The next bit I did was a 'sixer' (six months), and I escaped from prison in about three weeks after I got it.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

drag (third-person singular simple present drags, present participle dragging, simple past and past participle dragged or (dialectal) drug)

  1. (transitive) To pull along a surface or through a medium, sometimes with difficulty.
  2. To proceed heavily, laboriously, or slowly; to advance with weary effort; to go on lingeringly.
    • a. 1732, John Gay, epistle to a Lady
      Long, open panegyric drags at best.
  3. To act or proceed slowly or without enthusiasm; to be reluctant.
  4. To draw along (something burdensome); hence, to pass in pain or with difficulty.
  5. To serve as a clog or hindrance; to hold back.
  6. (graphical user interface) To operate a pointing device by moving it with a button held down; to move, copy, etc. (an item) in this way.
  7. (chiefly of a vehicle) To unintentionally rub or scrape on a surface.
  8. (soccer) To hit or kick off target.
    • 2012, David Ornstein, BBC Sport, "Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham" [6], November 17
      Arsenal were struggling for any sort of rhythm and Aaron Lennon dragged an effort inches wide as Tottenham pressed for a second.
  9. To fish with a dragnet.
  11. To search for something, as a lost object or body, by dragging something along the bottom of a body of water.
  12. To break (land) by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow.
    Synonym: harrow
  13. (figurative) To search exhaustively, as if with a dragnet.
  14. (slang) To roast, say negative things about, or call attention to the flaws of (someone).
    Synonyms: criticize; see also Thesaurus:criticize
  15. (intransitive, music) 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.
    Antonym: rush
  16. (informal, intransitive) To inhale from a cigarette, cigar, etc.
Derived terms
Related terms
  • dragnet
Translations

See also

  • (call attention to the flaws of): read

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”)

Noun

drag (usually uncountable, plural drags)

  2. (uncountable, slang) Women's clothing worn by men for the purpose of entertainment. [from late 19th c.]
    1. (uncountable, slang, by analogy) Men's clothing worn by women for the purpose of entertainment.
  3. (countable, slang) A men's party attended in women's clothing. [from early 20th c.]
  4. (countable, slang) A drag king or drag queen.
    • 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.
  5. (uncountable, slang) Any type of clothing or costume associated with a particular occupation or subculture.
Derived terms
  • (women's clothing worn by men): de-drag, drag act, drag artist, drag daughter, drag king, drag queen, drag show
  • (any type of clothing): lally-drags
  • drab
Translations

Verb

drag (third-person singular simple present drags, present participle dragging, simple past and past participle dragged)

  1. To perform as a drag queen or drag king.

References

  • Michael Quinion (2004) “Drag”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.

Anagrams

  • Gard, Grad, darg, gard, grad

French

Pronunciation

Noun

drag m (plural drags)

  1. drag queen

Further reading

  • “drag”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse drag, related to dra (“to pull, drag”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /drɑːɡ/

Noun

drag n (definite singular draget, indefinite plural drag, definite plural draga)

  1. a pull, drag (the act of pulling, dragging)
  2. hang (capability)
  3. feature (e.g. facial features)

Derived terms

  • vinddrag

References

  • “drag” in The Bokmål Dictionary / The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English drug.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈdrak/
  • Rhymes: -ak
  • Syllabification: drag
  • Homophones: drak, Drak

Noun

drag m inan

  1. (slang) drug, recreational drug
    Synonym: narkotyk

Declension

Further reading

  • drag in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English drag.

Pronunciation

Noun

drag m (invariable)

  1. (uncountable) drag (clothes worn by the opposite sex for entertainment)

Noun

drag m or f by sense (plural drags)

  1. (countable) drag queen, drag king (one who performs drag)
    Synonyms: drag queen, drag king

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic драгъ (dragŭ), from Proto-Slavic *dorgъ. Bulgarian драг (drag).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [draɡ]

Adjective

drag m or n (feminine singular dragă, plural dragi)

  1. dear

Usage notes

This word can be used as a term of address, in the same way as "dear", "honey", and "sweetie" are used in English.

Declension

Derived terms

  • dragoste
  • drăgălaș
  • drăguț

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *dorgъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *dargás.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /drâːɡ/

Adjective

drȃg (Cyrillic spelling дра̑г, definite drȃgī, comparative drȁžī)

  1. dear

Declension

Related terms

  • dražestan

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *dorgъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *dargás.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dráːk/

Adjective

drȃg (comparative drȃžji, superlative nȁjdrȃžji)

  1. dear (loved; lovable)
  2. expensive

Declension

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

  • “drag”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Spanish

Noun

drag m (plural drags)

  1. drag (entertainment form)

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish dragh, from Old Norse drag, related to the verb draga (“to pull, draw”).

Pronunciation

Noun

drag n

  1. feature, trait, characteristic
  2. lure, trolling spoon
  3. (chess) move
  4. (figuratively) move
  5. draft, draught (current of (usually outside) air through the interior of something, for example in the flue of a fireplace, stove, or similar)
  6. (colloquial) intensity, power, as a positive attribute (of for example music, parties, or vehicles)
    Synonyms: (intensity) röj, (intensity) ös

Declension

Derived terms

  • genidrag (“masterstroke”)
  • karaktärsdrag (“character trait”)
  • korsdrag (“cross-breeze, cross-draft”)

See also

  • dra
  • schvung

Verb

drag

  1. imperative of draga

References

  • drag in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  • drag in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
  • drag in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

  • grad

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.