drag

Definitions

1. 1.To draw slowly or heavily onward; to pull along the ground by main force; to haul; to trail; -- applied to drawing heavy or resisting bodies or those inapt for drawing, with labor, along the ground or other surface; as, to drag stone or timber; to drag a net in fishing. Dragged by the cords which through his feet were thrust. Denham. The grossness of his nature will have weight to drag thee down. Tennyson. A needless Alexandrine ends the song That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along. Pope.
2. 2.To break, as land, by drawing a drag or harrow over it; to harrow; to draw a drag along the bottom of, as a stream or other water; hence, to search, as by means of a drag. Then while I dragged my brains for such a song. Tennyson.
3. 3.To draw along, as something burdensome; hence, to pass in pain or with difficulty. Have dragged a lingering life. Dryden. To drag an anchor (Naut.), to trail it along the bottom when the anchor will not hold the ship.
4. 4.To be drawn along, as a rope or dress, on the ground; to trail; to be moved onward along the ground, or along the bottom of the sea, as an anchor that does not hold.
5. 5.To move onward heavily, laboriously, or slowly; to advance with weary effort; to go on lingeringly. The day drags through, though storms keep out the sun. Byron. Long, open panegyric drags at best. Gay.
6. 6.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. Russell.
7. 7.To fish with a dragnet.
8. 8.The act of dragging; anything which is dragged.
9. 9.A net, or an apparatus, to be drawn along the bottom under water, as in fishing, searching for drowned persons, etc.
10. 10.A kind of sledge for conveying heavy bodies; also, a kind of low car or handcart; as, a stone drag.
11. 11.A heavy coach with seats on top; also, a heavy carriage. [Collog.] Thackeray.
12. 12.A heavy harrow, for breaking up ground.
13. 13.(a) Anything towed in the water to retard a ship's progress, or to keep her head up to the wind; esp., a canvas bag with a hooped mouth, so used. See Drag sail (below). (b) Also, a skid or shoe, for retarding the motion of a carriage wheel. (c) Hence, anything that retards; a clog; an obstacle to progress or enjoyment. My lectures were only a pleasure to me, and no drag. J. D. Forbes.
14. 14.Motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged. "Had a drag in his walk." Hazlitt.
15. 15.(Founding) The bottom part of a flask or mold, the upper part being the cope.
16. 16.(Masonry) A steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone.
17. 17.(Marine Engin.) 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. See Citation under Drag, v. i., 3. Drag sail (Naut.), a sail or canvas rigged on a stout frame, to be dragged by a vessel through the water in order to keep her head to the wind or to prevent drifting; -- called also drift sail, drag sheet, drag anchor, sea anchor, floating anchor, etc. -- Drag twist (Mining), a spiral hook at the end of a rod for cleaning drilled holes.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "drag" mean?
• What is another word for "drag"?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is drag.

• What is to be drawn along, as a rope or dress, on the ground; to trail; to be moved onward along the ground, or along the bottom of the sea, as an anchor that does not hold called?
• What is 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. Russell called?
• What is the act of dragging; anything which is dragged called?
• What is a net, or an apparatus, to be drawn along the bottom under water, as in fishing, searching for drowned persons, etc called?
• What is a kind of sledge for conveying heavy bodies; also, a kind of low car or handcart; as, a stone drag called?
• What is a heavy coach with seats on top; also, a heavy carriage. [Collog.] Thackeray called?
• What is motion affected with slowness and difficulty, as if clogged. "Had a drag in his walk." Hazlitt called?
• What is the bottom part of a flask or mold, the upper part being the cope called?
• What is a steel instrument for completing the dressing of soft stone called?