flag

¹

[ flag ]

noun

1. a piece of cloth, varying in size, shape, color, and design, usually attached at one edge to a staff or cord, and used as the symbol of a nation, state, or organization, as a means of signaling, etc.; ensign; standard; banner; pennant.
2. Ornithology. the tuft of long feathers on the legs of falcons and most hawks; the lengthened feathers on the crus or tibia.
3. Hunting. the tail of a deer or of a setter dog.
4. Journalism.
   1. the nameplate of a newspaper.
   2. masthead ( def 1 ).
   3. the name of a newspaper as printed on the editorial page.
5. a tab or tag attached to a page, file card, etc., to mark it for attention.
6. Music. hook ¹( def 12a ).
7. Movies, Television. a small gobo.
8. Usually flags. the ends of the bristles of a brush, especially a paintbrush, when split.
9. Computers. a symbol, value, or other means of identifying data of interest, or of informing later parts of a program what conditions earlier parts have encountered.

verb (used with object)

, flagged, flag·ging.

1. to place a flag or flags over or on; decorate with flags.
2. to signal or warn (a person, automobile, etc.) with or as if with a flag (sometimes followed by down ):

   to flag a taxi; to flag down a passing car.

3. to communicate (information) by or as if by a flag.
4. to decoy, as game, by waving a flag or the like to excite attention or curiosity.
5. to mark (a page in a book, file card, etc.) for attention, as by attaching protruding tabs.
6. (of a brush) to split the ends of the bristles.

flag

²

[ flag ]

noun

1. any of various plants with long, sword-shaped leaves, as the sweet flag.
2. blue flag.
3. the long, slender leaf of such a plant or of a cereal.

flag

³

[ flag ]

verb (used without object)

, flagged, flag·ging.

1. to fall off in vigor, energy, activity, interest, etc.:

   Public enthusiasm flagged when the team kept losing.

   Synonyms: wane, sag, slump, wilt, dwindle

2. to hang loosely or limply; droop.

flag

⁴

[ flag ]

noun

1. flagstone ( def 1 ).
2. flags, flagstone ( def 2 ).

verb (used with object)

, flagged, flag·ging.

1. to pave with flagstones.

flag

¹

/ flæɡ /

noun

1. any of various plants that have long swordlike leaves, esp the iris Iris pseudacorus ( yellow flag )
2. the leaf of any such plant

flag

²

/ flæɡ /

verb

1. to hang down; become limp; droop
2. to decline in strength or vigour; become weak or tired

flag

³

/ flæɡ /

noun

1. a piece of cloth, esp bunting, often attached to a pole or staff, decorated with a design and used as an emblem, symbol, or standard or as a means of signalling
2. a small paper flag, emblem, or sticker sold on flag days
3. computing an indicator, that may be set or unset, used to indicate a condition or to stimulate a particular reaction in the execution of a computer program
4. informal.
   short for flag officer flagship
5. journalism another name for masthead
6. the fringe of long hair, tapering towards the tip, on the underside of the tail of certain breeds of dog, such as setters
7. the conspicuously marked tail of a deer
8. a less common name for bookmark
9. the part of a taximeter that is raised when a taxi is for hire
10. the pennant-shaped pattern that is formed when a price fluctuation is plotted on a chart, interrupting the steady rise or fall that precedes and then follows it
11. the flag
    (in Victoria, Australia) the Australian Rules premiership
12. fly the flag
    to represent or show support for one's country, an organization, etc
13. show the flag
    1. to assert a claim, as to a territory or stretch of water, by military presence
    2. to be present; make an appearance
14. strike the flag or lower the flag
    1. to relinquish command, esp of a ship
    2. to submit or surrender

verb

1. to decorate or mark with a flag or flags
2. often foll by down to warn or signal (a vehicle) to stop
3. to send or communicate (messages, information, etc) by flag
4. to decoy (game or wild animals) by waving a flag or similar object so as to attract their attention
5. to mark (a page in a book, card, etc) for attention by attaching a small tab or flag
6. to draw attention to (something)
7. foll byaway or by to consider unimportant; brush aside

flag

⁴

/ flæɡ /

noun

1. short for flagstone

verb

1. tr to furnish (a floor) with flagstones

Derived Forms

• ˈflagger, noun
• ˈflagless, adjective

Other Words From

• flag·ger noun
• flag·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of flag¹

First recorded in 1475–85; perhaps blend of flap (noun) and fag ² (noun) in obsolete sense “flap”

Origin of flag²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flagge

Origin of flag³

First recorded in 1535–45; perhaps blend of of flap (verb) and fag ² (verb) in obsolete sense “to droop”. See flag ¹

Origin of flag⁴

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English flagge “piece of sod”; akin to Old Norse flaga “slab”

Word History and Origins

Origin of flag¹

C14: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Dutch flag , Danish flæg yellow iris

Origin of flag²

C16: of unknown origin

Origin of flag³

C16: of uncertain origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. strike the flag, Also strike one's flag.
   1. to relinquish command, as of a ship.
   2. to submit or surrender:

      His financial situation is growing worse, but he's not ready to strike the flag.

Example Sentences

But he said the groups do what they can to check new members for "red flags".

From BBC

Police said the plotters had nicknamed the operation "green and yellow dagger", in reference to the colours of the Brazilian flag.

From BBC

He might have won had Mercedes not overruled his wish to stay out rather than pit for fresh tyres shortly before the red flag.

From BBC

“TRUE!!!” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media network, in response to a conservative activist flagging reports of the proposals.

From New York Times

Let’s just take one matter that the mainstream news media and commentariat rarely focused on and that’s the gains the Democrats could have made by seizing the flag.

From Salon

Related Words

• banner
• emblem
• streamer