drag

1 verb dragged, dragging

1 PULL ALONG THE GROUND (T) to pull someone or something along the ground, often because they are too heavy to carry: drag sth away/along/through etc: Inge managed to drag the table into the kitchen. | Angry protesters were dragged away by police. | drag a leg/foot etc (=let it touch the ground as you move): a bird dragging its broken wing

2 NOT GENTLY (transitive always + adv/prep) to pull someone or something somewhere in a way that hurts or damages them: drag sth up/over etc: The plants had been dragged out by the roots. | Harvey dragged her over to the window. | drag sb to the ground (=pull someone down to the ground)

3 drag yourself up/down/into etc informal to move somewhere with difficulty: Jacob could hardly drag himself up the stairs.

4 PERSUADE SB TO COME (transitive always + adv/prep) informal if you drag someone somewhere, you persuade or force them to come when they do not want to: drag sb along/away etc: Try and drag her along to the meeting tonight. | Carla can't drag him away from the football on TV.

5 drag yourself away (from) to leave someone or something, or stop doing something, although you do not want to: It's well worth a visit if you can drag yourself away from the pool.

6 TIME (I) if time or an event drags, it seems to go very slowly because nothing interesting is happening: Friday afternoons always drag.

7 TOUCH THE GROUND (I) if something is dragging along the ground, in the mud etc, part of it is touching the ground, the mud etc as you move

(+ along/in): Your coat's dragging in the mud.

8 drag your feet/heels informal to take too much time to do something because you do not want to do it: The authorities are dragging their feet over banning cigarette advertising.

9 drag sb's name through the mud/mire to tell people about the bad things that someone has done, so that they will have a bad opinion of them

10 drag (along) behind sb to go more slowly than someone so that you are always behind them

11 COMPUTER (transitive always + adv/prep) to move something on a computer screen by pulling it along with the mouse (2)

12 drag a pond/river etc to look for something in a lake, river etc by pulling a heavy net along the bottom: They dragged the lake for the missing girl's body.

13 BOAT (T) if a boat drags its anchor 1 (1), it pulls the anchor away from its place on the sea bottom

drag sb down phrasal verb (T)

1 to make someone feel unhappy or discouraged: All these criticisms were dragging her down.

2 drag sb down to your level informal often humorous to make someone behave like you, in a worse way than they would usually behave: “Look at this mess - it's not like you!” “I know - Ken's dragged me down to his level.”

drag sb/sth in phrasal verb (T) to start to talk about someone or something that is not connected with what you are talking or arguing about: Why drag Jules in? He has nothing to do with it. drag sb/sth into sth phrasal verb (T) to make someone get involved in a particular situation, discussion etc even though they do not want to: I'm sorry to drag you into this mess. drag on phrasal verb (I) if an event drags on, it seems to continue for longer than is necessary, often because you are bored (+ for): The meeting dragged on for hours. drag sth out phrasal verb (T) to make a meeting, an argument etc last longer than is necessary: “How long can she drag this argument out?” Calvin wondered. drag sth out of sb sb phrasal verb (T) to make someone tell you something when they had not intended to or were not supposed to do so: He'll tell me, even if I have to drag it out of him! drag sb/sth up phrasal verb (T)

1 to mention an unpleasant subject or event, even though it is not necessary and it upsets the people who were involved in it: The newspapers are dragging up her alleged affair again.

2 BrE informal often humorous to raise 1 (4) a child so badly that when they are adult they behave badly, have bad manners etc: That child must have been dragged up.

2 noun

1 SB/STH IS BORING a drag informal something or someone that is unexciting or boring: The party was a real drag. | Don't be such a drag! Come out with us.

2 be a drag on a person or thing that is a drag on someone makes it hard for them to make progress towards what they want: Marriage would be a drag on my career.

3 ON CIGARETTE (C) the act of breathing in smoke from your cigarette: take a drag on: Pran took a deep drag on his cigarette.

4 CLOTHES (U) women's clothes worn by a man, or men's clothes worn by a woman: in drag: The whole performance is done in drag.

5 FORCE (singular, uncountable) the force of air that pushes against an aircraft or a vehicle that is moving forward: Increasing the car's height increases aerodynamic drag.

6 BORING JOURNEY (U) BrE informal a long and boring journey: It's a terrible drag all the way from Tijuana.

7 the main drag AmE informal the biggest or longest street that goes through a town: We passed the last buildings on the main drag of Encino.

8 STH THAT IS PULLED (C) something that is made to be pulled along: a drag harrow