Dragging

How to spell dragging

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce dragging

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dragging mean?

1. verbPulling something heavy or resistant along a surface with effort.
2. adjectiveContinuing tediously and seeming to pass very slowly.

Dragging in a sentence

• verb

  He was dragging the suitcase across the gravel car park.

• adjective

  The meeting felt endless, with every agenda item dragging on for ages.

• verb

  The movers spent an hour dragging the wardrobe up the stairs.

• adjective

  The final hour of the flight was a dragging wait with no entertainment.

Where does dragging come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

The base verb 'drag' comes from the Old Norse 'draga', meaning to draw, pull, or haul, which was reinforced by the related Old English 'dragan' of the same sense. Both descend from a common Germanic root meaning to pull or draw something heavy along a surface. By the late medieval period the word was firmly established in English for hauling loads, nets, or anything resisting movement. The present participle 'dragging' follows the regular English rule that a single short vowel followed by a single final consonant doubles that consonant before '-ing', which is precisely why the 'g' appears twice. The same family gave us 'draw' and the noun 'dray' (a heavy cart), all sharing the idea of pulling with effort, and remembering that one-syllable 'drag' doubles its 'g' is the key to spelling 'dragging' correctly.

How the word is built

• drag (to pull along)
• -g- (doubled consonant after a short stressed vowel)
• -ing (present participle)