<B>drag, </B>verb, <B>dragged,</B> <B>dragging,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to pull along heavily or slowly; pull or draw along the ground. <BR> <I>Ex. A team of horses dragged the big log out of the forest.</I> (SYN) haul, tug. <DD><B> 2. </B>to pull a net or hook along for some purpose; search. <BR> <I>Ex. The fishermen dragged the bay for fish. The fire department dragged the lake for the drowned person's body.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to break up (land) with a drag or harrow. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Slang.) to bore. <BR> <I>Ex. I started lessons on drums six years ago, and on the side I played in rock groups. Both experiences dragged me (Whitney Balliett).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to move along heavily or slowly. <BR> <I>Ex. The crippled old man dragged along slowly.</I> (SYN) trail. <DD><B> 2. </B>to go too slowly. <BR> <I>Ex. Time drags when you have nothing to do.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to lag. <BR> <I>Ex. The baritone was dragging.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Slang.) to puff or inhale on a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, or suck on a straw. <BR> <I>Ex. Just then, an older man in brown walked up, dragging on a cigarette (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to use a drag. <DD><B> 6. </B>(U.S. Slang.) to take part in a drag race. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a net, hook, implement, or device used in dragging. <DD><B> 2. </B>the act of dragging. <DD><B> 3. </B>a thing dragged. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) anything that holds back; obstruction; hindrance. <BR> <I>Ex. That lazy, complaining boy is a drag on the team. Some old ideas and ways are a drag on progress.</I> (SYN) impediment. <DD><B> 5. </B>a low, strong sled for carrying heavy loads. <DD><B> 6. </B>a heavy harrow or other implement drawn over land to level it and break up clods. <DD><B> 7. </B>a device for slowing down the rotation of the wheels of a vehicle. <DD><B> 8. </B>the force acting on a body in motion through a fluid in a direction opposite to the body's motion and produced by friction. <BR> <I>Ex. Airplanes flew faster as improved design reduced drag.</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>(Slang.) a person or thing that is extremely boring. <BR> <I>Ex. I don't like public transportation, and driving back and forth every day is a drag. The traffic and the traveling create tension, and who needs more tension? (Ernest Dunbar).</I> <DD><B> 10. </B>(Slang.) a street. <BR> <I>Ex. the main drag.</I> <DD><B> 11. </B>(Slang.) a puff or inhalation on a cigarette, pipe, or cigar, or a suck on a straw. <BR> <I>Ex. He leaned back and took a deep drag from his cigarette (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 12. </B>(U.S. Slang.) a girl taken out on a date. <BR> <I>Ex. One can see names of "drags" inscribed on desks in Mahan Hall (Barbara, Sharon, Prudence) (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 13. </B>(Slang.) influence. <BR> <I>Ex. The only thing that'll work now is drag. You need a really important figure to go to bat for you (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 14. </B>(U.S.) <B>=drag race.</B> <DD><B> 15. </B>(Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>clothing appropriate to the opposite sex; transvestite clothing. <BR> <I>Ex. The cabaret dances are suitably twentyish and naughty, and, in one of them, one of the chorus "girls" turns out to be Mr. Grey in drag (London Times).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>clothing, especially that considered to be worn by a certain group, class, or type. <BR> <I>Ex. Perhaps it is timely to ... follow Bonnie and Clyde (a distinctive couple in 'thirties gangster drag) (Punch).</I> <DD><B> 16. </B>(Nautical.) sea anchor (def. 1). <DD><B> 17a. </B>a brake to prevent excessive spin in a fishing reel. <DD><B> b. </B>a pull on a fishing line caused by a water current. <DD><B> 18. </B>in hunting: <DD><B> a. </B>an animal's trail or scent. <DD><B> b. </B>an artificial scent dragged on the ground to leave a trail for hounds. <DD><B> c. </B><B>=drag hunt.</B> <DD><B> 19. </B>a big coach with seats inside and on top, that used to be drawn by four or more horses. <BR> <I>Ex. Behind her came ... a drag, or private stage-coach with four horses (Thackeray).</I> <DD><B> 20. </B>(Railroading.) a slow freight train. <DD><B> 21. </B>(Metallurgy.) the bottom of a flask used in casting, that contains the gate and the cavity that is filled with molten metal. <BR><I>expr. <B>drag in,</B> </I>to bring (something irrelevant) into a discussion. <BR> <I>Ex. Whatever we talk about, you drag in stamp collecting.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>drag on</B> (or <B>out</B>), <DD><B> a. </B>to make or be too slow. </I> <I>Ex. The events of the day drag themselves on tediously in such a country house (Anthony Trollope).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to make or last too long. <BR> <I>Ex. The barking of the neighbor's dogs dragged on and jangled our nerves.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>drag one's feet</B> (or <B>heels</B>). </I>See under <B>feet</B> and <B>heel</B> (1). </DL>
<B>drag bunt,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Baseball.) a bunt made by pulling back the bat as the ball is hit. It is usually used by a batter who wants to reach first base. </DL>
<B>dragger, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that drags. <DD><B> 2. </B>a boat used in fishing with a dragnet; trawler. </DL>
<A NAME="dragging">
<B>dragging, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> very slow; tedious. <BR> <I>Ex. a dragging pace.</I> adv. <B>draggingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="draggle">
<B>draggle, </B>verb, <B>-gled,</B> <B>-gling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to make wet or dirty by dragging through mud, water, dust, or wet snow. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to become wet or dirty by dragging through mud, water, dust, or wet snow. <DD><B> 2. </B>to follow slowly; lag behind; straggle. <BR> <I>Ex. With heavy hearts they draggled at the heels of his troop (Washington Irving).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to trail on the ground. </DL>
<A NAME="draggletail">
<B>draggletail, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a bedraggled or untidy woman; slut. </DL>
<B>draggy, </B>adjective, <B>-gier,</B> <B>-giest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> dragging; slow-moving; boring. <BR> <I>Ex. a draggy plot, a draggy contest. The idea was to bring something of the Christmas spirit into the middle of a draggy summer (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="draghound">
<B>draghound, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hound trained to follow a drag or artificial scent. </DL>
<A NAME="draghunt">
<B>drag hunt,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a hunt with a drag or artificial scent. </DL>
<A NAME="dragless">
<B>dragless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having no drag. </DL>
<A NAME="dragline">
<B>dragline, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=dragrope </B>(def. 2). <DD><B> 2. </B>an excavating machine with a boom on a rotating platform and cables for controlling a bucket. Draglines are used for dredging, excavating, and earthwork. <BR> <I>Ex. Draglines began creating straight lines of canals and levees across the wastes (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a silk thread which a spider spins behind itself. It often uses it to escape from enemies. </DL>
<A NAME="draglink">
<B>drag link,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a link that connects the cranks of two shafts. </DL>
<A NAME="dragmill">
<B>drag mill,</B> <B>=arrastra.</B></DL>
<A NAME="dragnet">
<B>dragnet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a net pulled over the bottom of a river, pond, or lake, or along the ground. Dragnets are used to catch fish and small birds. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a means of catching or gathering in. <BR> <I>Ex. All kinds of criminals were caught in the police dragnet.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dragoman">
<B>dragoman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mans</B> or <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an interpreter in the Orient. <BR> <I>Ex. It was a little like traveling through the British Isles with a Gurkha dragoman who insisted on carrying on all intercourse with the natives (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dragon">
<B>dragon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a huge, fierce animal in old stories, supposed to look like a snake or lizard with wings, claws, and scales. Dragons often breathed out fire and smoke. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a fierce, violent person. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) a very strict and watchful woman; stern chaperon. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) a tyrannical power; evil influence. <BR> <I>Ex. Harder still it has proved to resist and rule the dragon Money, with his paper wings (Emerson).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Zoology.) any one of various lizards with winglike membranes that can make long, flying leaps; flying dragon; flying lizard. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Botany.) any one of various plants of the arum family, such as the jack-in-the-pulpit. <DD><B> 7. </B>a large snake, whale, crocodile, or jackal in the Bible. <DD><B> 8. </B>(Archaic.) a huge snake. <DD><B> 9. </B>an armored tractor. <BR> <I>Ex. tanks, dragons, light and heavy guns.</I> <DD><B> 10. </B>(Obsolete.) <DD><B> a. </B>a short musket used by mounted infantry. <DD><B> b. </B>a soldier armed with this musket; dragoon. adj. <B>dragonlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="dragon">
<B>Dragon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Astronomy.) the northern constellation Draco. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) Satan. <BR> <I>Ex. The Dragon, put to second rout, Came furious down to be revenged on man (Milton).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dragoneel">
<B>dragon eel,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an eel with eyeballs on the ends of long optic nerves. Its eyes grow into normal sockets as it gets older. </DL>
<A NAME="dragonesque">
<B>dragonesque, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> like or like that of a dragon. </DL>
<A NAME="dragoness">
<B>dragoness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a female dragon. </DL>
<A NAME="dragonet">
<B>dragonet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small or young dragon. <DD><B> 2. </B>a small, often brightly colored marine fish. </DL>
<A NAME="dragonfish">
<B>dragonfish, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fishes</B> or (collectively) <B>-fish.</B> <B>=dragonet </B>(def. 2).</DL>
<A NAME="dragonfly">
<B>dragonfly, </B>noun, pl. <B>-flies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, harmless insect with a long, slender body and two pairs of wings; darning needle; devil's-darning-needle. It flies about very rapidly to catch flies, mosquitoes, and other insects and is often found near water. <BR> <I>Ex. Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky (Dante Gabriel Rossetti).</I> </DL>
