lag behind

English

Verb

lag behind (third-person singular simple present lags behind, present participle lagging behind, simple past and past participle lagged behind)

  1. (transitive or intransitive) To fail to keep pace; to fail to keep up with one's peers; to achieve or impress less than one's peers; to move more slowly than one's peers.
    Liam was lagging behind in the race.
    • 1962 December, “Beyond the Channel: U.S.S.R.: Train speeds still rising”, in Modern Railways, page 418:
      Until now these for the most part have lagged far behind those of Western Europe in speed; over the longer distances average speeds well below 40 m.p.h. have been the rule.
    • 2022 March 9, Stefanie Foster, “RAIL Supplement”, in RAIL, number 952, page 3:
      As the country continues to wrestle with one of the greatest upheavals to everyday life in recent memory, passenger numbers have had a turbulent 'snakes and ladders' journey - and continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.