Definition of drag verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

drag

verb

/dræɡ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they drag	/dræɡ/ /dræɡ/
he / she / it drags	/dræɡz/ /dræɡz/
past simple dragged	/dræɡd/ /dræɡd/
past participle dragged	/dræɡd/ /dræɡd/
-ing form dragging	/ˈdræɡɪŋ/ /ˈdræɡɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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pull

[transitive] to pull somebody/something along with effort and difficulty

drag somebody/something The sack is too heavy to lift—you’ll have to drag it.
drag somebody/something + adv./prep. I dragged the chair over to the window.
They dragged her from her bed.
He quickly dragged a comb through his hair.
drag somebody/something + adj. She managed to drag him clear of the wreckage.

Synonyms pullpulldrag ▪ draw ▪ haul ▪ tow ▪ tugThese words all mean to move something in a particular direction, especially towards or behind you.pull to hold something and move it in a particular direction; to hold or be attached to a vehicle and move it along behind you:

Pull the chair nearer the table.
They use oxen to pull their carts.

drag to pull somebody/something in a particular direction or behind you, usually along the ground, and especially with effort:

The sack is too heavy to lift—you’ll have to drag it.

draw (formal) to move somebody/something by pulling them/it gently; to pull a vehicle such as a carriage:

I drew my chair closer to the fire.
a horse-drawn carriage

haul to pull somebody/something to a particular place with a lot of effort:

Fishermen were hauling in their nets.

drag or haul?You usually drag something behind you along the ground; you usually haul something towards you, often upwards towards you. Dragging something often needs effort, but hauling something always does. tow to pull a car, boat or light plane behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain:

Our car was towed away by the police.

tug to pull somebody/something hard in a particular direction:

She tried to escape but he tugged her back.

Patterns

to pull/drag/draw/haul/tow/tug somebody/something along/down/towards something
to pull/drag/draw/haul/tow somebody/something behind you
to pull/drag/draw/haul a cart/sledge
to pull/draw a coach/carriage
to pull/haul/tow a truck
horses pull/draw/haul something
dogs pull/drag/haul something

Extra Examples

Police dragged protesters away from the embassy entrance.
Dogs drag the sledges for hundreds of miles across the snow.

[intransitive] + adv./prep. to take hold of something and pull it

Desperately, Jinny dragged at his arm.

move slowly

[transitive, intransitive] to move yourself slowly and with effort

drag yourself + adv./prep. I managed to drag myself out of bed.
+ adv./prep. She always drags behind when we walk anywhere.

Extra Examples

He dragged himself back home.
She dragged herself up the stairs by the banister.

persuade somebody to go

[transitive] drag somebody/yourself + adv./prep. to persuade somebody to come or go somewhere they do not really want to come or go to

I'm sorry to drag you all this way in the heat.
The party was so good I couldn't drag myself away.
He came in, dragging his three children behind him.

Extra Examples

My parents used to drag me to piano lessons when I was a kid.
It's time you dragged yourself away from that computer!
I know you like hanging out in the mall, but I don't know why you have to drag me with you.
She dragged her eyes away from his.

of time

[intransitive] (of time or an event) to pass very slowly

Time dragged terribly.
The meeting really dragged.

touch ground

[intransitive, transitive] to move, or make something move, partly touching the ground

This dress is too long—it drags on the ground when I walk.
drag something He was dragging his coat in the mud.

search river

[transitive] drag something (for somebody/something) to search the bottom of a river, lake, etc. with nets or hooks

They dragged the canal for the murder weapon.

computing

[transitive] drag something + adv./prep. to move some text, an icon, etc. across the screen of a computer using the mouse

Click on the file and drag it across.

Wordfinder

Topics Computersc2

More Like This Consonant-doubling verbsConsonant-doubling verbs

Word OriginMiddle English: from Old English dragan or Old Norse draga ‘to draw’; the noun partly from Middle Low German dragge ‘grapnel, a grappling hook’.

Idioms

drag your feet/heels

to be deliberately slow in doing something or in making a decision related noun foot-draggingTopics Preferences and decisionsc2

drag somebody through the mud/dirt | drag somebody's name through the mud/dirt

(informal) to criticize or say bad things about somebody in public, in a way that is unfair
- The paper has dragged his name through the mud.
- They feel their agency has been dragged through the mud by the press.
- Football's good name is being dragged through the dirt.

(drag somebody) kicking and screaming

(informal) if you drag somebody kicking and screaming to do something, they only do it with great protests because they don't really want to do it at all
- The president had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the signing ceremony.

pull/drag yourself up by your (own) bootstraps

(informal) to improve your situation yourself, without help from other people

See drag in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee drag in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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