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to flag

to flag

1 5.1
To become weak or lose energy
  • verb
  • /flæɡ/
translation icon : decaer
  • After a long day of hiking, I could feel my energy starting to flag as we approached the campsite.
  • never flag

Why does consciousness flag become a vacuum?

Examples

  • His interest in zoology began to flag.

    Academic text (2005)
  • We must not flag, not give up, and never tire.

    Blog text (30)
  • His energy seemed never to flag.

    Academic text (2002)
  • At the halfway mark, she began to flag, just a fraction, but enough for the field to close.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • I didn't feel too terrible, though my energy did start to flag at 2 PM.

    Blog text (7)
  • If it flags, the recent gains will start to erode.

    Academic text (2005)
  • But tiredness kicked in and Rennes' players started to flag.

    Blog text (5)
  • When his endurance had begun to flag, she'd brought him to life time and again until they'd fallen asleep in each other's arms.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous states have... have fallen or may fall into the... the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of the Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

  • During the final lap of the race, my legs began to flag, but I pushed through to the finish line.

Synonyms

to ease up
vsto flag
57 3.7

To make something less strong or strict

describes personal loss of energy rather than lowering external pressure
to droop
vsto flag
22 3.9

To bend down and hang limply because of being tired or without water

refers to internal loss of strength rather than visible bending
to ease off
vsto flag
9 4.0

To become gradually less strong or severe

describes tiring and loss of energy rather than gradual external decrease
flagging
vsto flag
5.8

Weak and lacking energy because of tiredness

is the basic verb form for the same loss of strength
to slacken off
vsto flag
3.9

To become less strong or active

means losing strength from tiredness rather than actively reducing intensity

Antonyms

327 3.0

To make muscles, relationships, or groups stronger

65 3.7

To make someone feel more active and alert

Idioms

4 4.0

To stop trying and accept that you lost

To come together to show strong support for a leader or the country in danger

Show your true self to others, even if it seems strange

Phrasal Verbs

to flag down
  • Informal
14 3.3

Signal for a taxi or driver to stop by waving your hand

To signal that there may be a problem or danger

To show support for a country, group or cause by displaying its flag

To tell people about an idea or problem to see how they react

Compounds

red flag
  • Informal
77 3.6

A sign that shows a problem or danger in a situation

56 1.0

A piece of cloth that stands for the United States with thirteen stripes and fifty stars

19 2.7

A plain white cloth that people raise to show surrender or ask for a truce

7 3.7

A red cloth flown to warn people of danger

4 8.3

A flag used as a symbol of racism and hate

4 5.7

A flag carried at the front of an army to show who they are and guide soldiers

flag of truce
  • Formal
3 4.9

A white flag shown to ask fighters to stop and start talks

A piece of cloth that officially represents a country

3 5.7

A red banner used as a symbol of socialist movements

flag officer
  • Specialized
3 8.5

A senior navy officer above captain who flies a flag to show command

A flag used by Southern states during the American Civil War, often the battle flag design

flag-waving
  • Offensive
2 6.8

Showing too much pride in one's country

1 3.4

A day in the United States that remembers when the national flag was first used on June 14

1 5.7

A public display like a speech or a rally that makes people feel strong love for their country

1 3.7

Sailors who steal from ships fly a black flag with a white skull and crossbones

1 6.5

A flag that is black with a white skull and crossbones used by pirates

signal flag
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A rectangular piece of cloth ships use to send short messages

1 3.1

The national flag of the United Kingdom, also called the Union Jack

1 4.8

A tall plant with yellow iris flowers that grows in wet places

A light brown cloth signal showing a temporary stop or truce

8.1

A wild iris with blue flowers that grows near ponds and wet meadows

code flag
  • Specialized
7.1

A flag used to send messages between ships

flag captain
  • Specialized
8.4

A senior naval officer in charge of a flagship carrying an admiral

flag rank
  • Specialized
8.1

A senior military title that officers like admirals or generals hold

flag signal
  • Specialized
6.3

Sending messages with flags by moving them in set patterns over a distance, often between ships

flag smut fungus
  • Specialized
9.0

A disease of wheat and other grasses that makes dark streaks and black dust

flag smut
  • Specialized
9.9

A disease of wheat and other grasses that makes dark powdery streaks on leaves and stems

8.1

A small train station where trains stop only if someone signals them

flag-waver
  • Offensive
7.9

A person who shows strong support for their country often in aggressive ways

A person honored for great bravery who leads troops and carries a square banner

A marsh plant with long swordlike leaves and fragrant roots

nautical signal flag
  • Specialized
6.7

A flag sailors use to send messages between ships at sea

semaphore flag
  • Specialized
8.6

A flag you wave to send messages to people far away

A marsh plant with long pointed leaves and roots that have a strong smell

8.6

A tall water plant with long leaves and a brown, stick-like flower head

A tall plant like an iris with blue-violet flowers that grows in wet places in the eastern United States

wheat flag smut
  • Specialized
8.6

Plant disease that attacks wheat leaves and stems, causing dark streaks and lower crop yields

A yellow flower that grows in wet places like marshes and pond edges

How Weak

to collapse
579 3.9
to flag
1 5.1
to fade
531 1.2
to weaken
305 2.8

Surface Forms

flag infinitive
flagged past
flagged past participle
flagging present participle
flags third person singular

Etymology

To flag meaning to become weak or tired comes from the picture of a flag hanging limp with no wind, so when someone or something 'flags' it droops and loses energy.