1 C1 idiomatic informal
To become idle or reduce one's effort; to fall behind through inattention or laziness.
"Don't lag off now — we're nearly finished with the project."
inseparable
lag off
C1 informal inseparable intransitive
To become lazy or to reduce one's effort; to fall behind through lack of effort. An obscure and rarely used expression.
In plain English
To start being lazy and not work as hard as you should.
What does "lag off" mean?
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
'Lag' means to move slowly or fall behind, so 'lag off' suggests drifting away from effort.
Actually means
To start being lazy and not work as hard as you should.
Usage tip
Extremely rare in modern English. Speakers who mean to say this almost always use 'slack off' or 'lag behind' instead. May appear in older texts or highly regional dialects.
Words that pair with "lag off"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
work effort pace studies
How to conjugate "lag off"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
lag off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
lags off
he/she/it
Past simple
laged off
yesterday
Past participle
laged off
have + pp
-ing form
laging off
continuous
Hear "lag off" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "lag off" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.