drag out

English

Verb

drag out (third-person singular simple present drags out, present participle dragging out, simple past and past participle dragged out)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To extend or lengthen excessively.

   I don't want to drag out this talk, so I'll stop now and answer any questions.

   • 2013, Lisa Bonavita, Secrets Exposed: When Remaining Silent Is No Longer an Option, →ISBN, page 50:

     It upsets me that there is no regard that the children have taken another day off school and all they wanted was for it to be over. Conveniently for the defence, it’s dragging out and our nerves are getting frayed.

2. (transitive) To haul or bring out forcefully or from an awkward location.

   She dragged out her old Spanish textbooks in an attempt to prepare for her trip.

   • 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 105:

     'I'm sure I should have never mentioned anything of the kind to three strange gentlemen if you hadn't dragged it out of me.'

Translations

extend or lengthen excessively (transitive)

• Finnish: pitkittää, venyttää (fi), vatvoa (fi)
• French: faire traîner en longueur, faire traîner

haul or bring out forcefully or from an awkward location

• Azerbaijani: çıxarmaq (az)

Anagrams

• outdrag