to drag out
23
5.1
- phrasal verb
- /dræɡ aʊt/
- Informal
:
alargar
- He always tends to drag out the meeting with unnecessary details.
- drag things out
- drag out any longer
- drag out the negotiations
As long as the strike dragged out, this aspect became increasingly important.
- As long as the strike dragged out, this aspect became increasingly important.
- So I was enjoying it, but then things just started to really drag out for me.
- I felt like a lot of things were just super dragged out in the book, so I didn't love it.
- You're still in a deeply unfair financial settlement, still in a divorce that is being dragged out forever.
- And sometimes what happens is the man will try to hold on for as long as he can, dragging the situation out and all these things.
- And it's possible Mark Meadow suggests that they'll do the rest in August, which honestly just drags out other important things to other bills in the future.
- In a situation where the war drags out much longer, several planting and harvesting seasons could be missed.
- I mean, you can, you can drag it out, but with normal incomes and normal raises and just not doing normal stuff, there's no new cars in the plan.
Examples
-
Now, I think it would be best for all of us if we didn't drag this out.
-
Let's not drag this out.
-
So, how long is she gonna drag this out for?
-
This guy really likes to drag things out.
-
None of us want to drag this out any longer than it already has.
-
And then I learned they were going to drag it out for the entire episode.
Blog text (16) -
No need to drag out the negotiations.
-
Why are you dragging this out?
-
It's not fair to Clarissa to drag this out.
Fiction book (1995) -
There's no point in dragging it out.
Synonyms
42
3.9
To continue longer than needed and become boring
9
4.0
Make a conversation or event last longer than usual
4
7.8
To make something last longer than it needs to
2
6.3
To make something last longer than needed, often on purpose
1
5.2
To continue much longer than expected and make people bored
1
5.6
To make something last longer than needed
To delay longer than you should and risk missing something
Antonyms
How Long
- Informal
1
5.2
- Informal
23
5.1
42
3.9
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
drag + out
The meaning 'to make something last longer' can be plausibly derived from the literal sense of 'drag' (to pull) combined with 'out' indicating extension, so there is a clear metaphorical link between the parts and the MWE. However, phrasal-verb semantics are variable and 'out' has multiple functions, so a B1 learner who knows the words may only partially infer the exact sense without prior exposure.
Etymology
The verb drag out comes from the image of someone slowly dragging something out of a room or box so the move takes a long time. So it now means 'to make something last longer than necessary', often making people bored or annoyed.