Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that lags; a straggler.
  • adjective Slow or delayed in action. synonym: slow.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Slow; sluggish; backward.
  • noun One who lags; a loiterer; a lazy, slack fellow.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Slow; sluggish; backward.
  • noun One who lags; a loiterer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Hanging back; loitering.
  • noun One who lags behind and takes more time than is necessary.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind
  • adjective wasting time

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From lag +‎ -ard.

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Examples

  • He was classified as a laggard on my innovativeness scale because he had not adopted any of the dozen agricultural innovations recommended by agricultural experts.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 2003

  • He was classified as a laggard on my innovativeness scale because he had not adopted any of the dozen agricultural innovations recommended by agricultural experts.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 2003

  • A laggard was the business-jet segment, whose earnings dropped 39% on flat revenue.

    BE Aerospace Profit Climbs 2010

  • Another laggard was the Department of Defense, which was among a group of five agencies that only met or surpassed one of its five targets.

    US Misses Target for Small-Business Contracts 2009

  • The point of reference for the laggard is the past.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 1995

  • The point of reference for the laggard is the past.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 2003

  • The point of reference for the laggard is the past.

    Diffusion of Innovations Everett M. Rogers 2003

  • If the people about you are carrying on their business or their benevolence at a pace which drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower pace; be called a laggard, make less money, accomplish less work than they, but be what you were meant to be and can be.

    Daily Strength for Daily Needs Mary W. Tileston

  • And if the laggard is a man, they imitate the cry with which they call a he-goat; if a woman, the cry with which they call a she-goat.

    The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion 1922

  • ” And if the laggard is a man, they imitate the cry with which they call a he-goat; if a woman, the cry with which they call a she-goat.

    Chapter 48. The Corn-Spirit as an Animal. § 6. The Corn-spirit as a Goat 1922

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  • He stood in the porch and watched the laggard hurry towards the scrappy field where sharp voices were in strife.

    Joyce, Ulysses, 2

    December 29, 2006