laggard

laggard — noun

1. a person, company, or country that makes less progress or achieves less than oth

1.nounB2
Definition

a person, company, or country that makes less progress or achieves less than others in the same group or field

Example

Despite having the best technology, the company became a laggard in the smartphone market.

collocation: become a laggard + in [field]

Esme felt like a laggard in math class when peers finished assignments twice as fast.

feel like a laggard + in [context]

Common collocations
  • economic laggard
  • technological laggard
  • relative laggard
  • become a laggard in
  • remain a laggard
Synonyms
  • straggler

    implies someone who has fallen behind a moving group, often physically; less abstract than laggard

  • slowpoke

    informal and more affectionate; does not carry the competitive failure tone of laggard

  • latecomer

    focuses on arriving after others, not on ongoing slowness in progress

Antonyms
  • leader

    someone or something at the front in progress or achievement

  • pacesetter

    someone who sets the standard or speed that others follow

Grammar Patterns

laggard + in + noun phrase

laggard + at + noun phrase

Usage Note

Often used in business, economics, or education contexts to describe an entity failing to keep pace with peers. Less likely in informal conversation about personal habits.

Common Mistakes

He laggarded behind the group.
He lagged behind the group.
Laggard is a noun, not a verb; use lag as the verb form.
She is a laggard because she is lazy.
She is a laggard in productivity, though she works just as hard.
Laggard implies falling behind others, not necessarily laziness or lack of effort.

laggard — adjective

Word family

  • lag
    verbB1
  • lag
    nounB2
  • lagging
    adjectiveB2
  • laggy
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three words describe someone who falls behind, but they differ in tone and context. Straggler often refers to a person physically lagging behind a moving group (e.g., 'the stragglers on a hike'), while laggard typically describes abstract, competitive slowness in performance or development. Slowpoke is informal and gentler, used playfully rather than critically (e.g., 'Come on, slowpoke!'). Latecomer focuses purely on arrival time and does not imply ongoing slowness — you can be a latecomer to a meeting but still be fast once you start. Choose laggard when you want a serious, evaluative tone in business, academic, or economic writing. For example, saying 'the nation is a technological laggard' signals a critical comparison, whereas 'the nation is a technological latecomer' is more neutral about timing.

stragglerslowpokelatecomer

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

English

Formed in the early 18th century by combining the verb lag ('to fall behind or move slowly') with the suffix -ard, which often creates nouns describing a person with a particular (usually negative) quality — also seen in coward, drunkard, and sluggard. The word first appeared in English around the 1700s.