sag

CEFRB2

/sæɡ/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To bend or hang downward under weight or pressure.

  2. 02

    noun

    A downward bend or droop in something that should be straight.

Examples

  • A heavy load is causing the plank to sag in the middle.

  • The party's candidate began to sag in the polls.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4

Also pronounced

  • /saɡ/
  • /seɪ̯ɡ/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. The difference in elevation of a wire, cable, chain or rope suspended between two consecutive points.

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The state of sinking or bending; a droop.

  2. The difference in height or depth between the vertex and the rim of a curved surface, specifically used for optical elements such as a mirror or lens.

More examples

In context

  • A line or cable supported by its ends sags, even if it is tightly drawn.

  • Her once firm bosom began to sag in her thirties.

  • The floor of a room sags.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After years of use, the wooden shelf started to blank under the weight.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From earlier sag, sagg, sack, from Middle English saggen, probably from Middle Low German sacken (“to sink, drift”), ultimately of North Germanic/Scandinavian/Old Norse origin, akin to Old Norse søkkva (“to sink”), from a denasalized derivative of Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną (“to sink”). Cognate with Scots seg (“to sink”), Danish sakke (“to lag behind”), Swedish sacka (“to lag”), Icelandic sakka (“to sink”), Faroese søkka (“to sink, drop down, descend, set”), Dutch zakken (“to fall, drop, sink”), German Low German sacken (“to sink”), and German sacken (“to sink”) (from Low German). Compare also Norwegian Nynorsk sagga (“to walk or move heavily and slowly”).