lag
/læɡ/adjective, noun, verb
lag is spelled L-A-G: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, lag means “Late” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lag?
| Letters | 3: L-A-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.7 times per million words; the 11,685th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lag?
Lag appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lag?
- US /læɡ/
- British /laɡ/
- Australia /læːɡ/
Lag has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-lag.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lag
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: lagg (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with lag?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lag from its last stressed vowel (/æɡ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: gal, alg.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lag
- lags plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lagging participle, present
- lagged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lag mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Late.
- 2
obsoleteLast; long-delayed.
- 3
Last made; hence, made of refuse; inferior.
noun
- 1
A gap, a delay; an interval created by something not keeping up; a latency.
- 2
Delay; latency.
- 3
IrelandUKarchaicslangOne sentenced to transportation for a crime.
- 4
IrelandUKslangA prisoner, a criminal.
- 5
slangA period of imprisonment.
- 6
A method of deciding which player is to start. Both players simultaneously strike a cue ball from the baulk line to hit the top cushion and rebound down the table; the player whose ball finishes closest to the baulk cushion wins.
- 7
One who lags; that which comes in last.
- 8
The fag-end; the rump; hence, the lowest class.
verb
- 1
To fail to keep up (the pace), to fall behind.
- 2
To cover (for example, pipes) with felt strips or similar material.
- 3
informalTo respond slowly.
My phone is starting to lag.
- 4
UKarchaicslangTo transport as a punishment for crime.
- 5
slangTo arrest or apprehend.
- 6
To slacken
Interest in the scandal will never lag.
adjective
- 1
Loose (inclined to play many starting hands, including weak ones) and aggressive (inclined to raise often).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lag in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rester en arrière, être en retard |
| German | zurückbleiben, zurückfallen |
| Spanish | rezagar, retrasar, arrezagar , retardar, laguear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lag come from?
Of unknown origin. Possibly of North Germanic origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).