lag
verb
uk/læɡ/ us-gg- [ I or T ]
to not make as much progress as other people or things:
lag behind sb/sth Business leaders in the UK still lag behind their European counterparts in foreign language skills.
lag well/far behind As usual we lag far behind the rest of the world in this matter.
They continue to lag their competitors in most areas of the business.
[ I ]
to move or make progress more slowly than usual, or to change later than something else changes:
Business had improved considerably after lagging last year.
There has been an upturn in business travel, but hotel prices are still lagging.
lag
noun [ C ]
uk/læɡ/ usa delay between two things happening:
This can mean a lag during construction projects.
Sometimes there would be long lag times between responses.
See also
time lag