as in snails
someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others
tried to spur on the laggards at the back of the line during the hike
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Recent Examples of laggards
On the other hand, energy and real estate were the day's laggards.
—
Sean Conlon,lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 25 Mar. 2026
The California Democratic Party pitched its new, periodic polls as a way to help voters and campaigns make sense of the unusually wide-open race for governor — and help encourage laggards to quit the race.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
The conflict is creating leaders and laggards, JPMorgan analysts wrote Monday.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The performance gap between fast learners and laggards is widening.
—Matthew C. Meade, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
There have been a few gaming laggards, including European publisher Ubisoft (down 44%) and accessory specialist Corsair (down 35%).
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 21 Jan. 2026
While laggards optimize margins, leaders accelerate into new markets, building capabilities that compound.
—Mohamad Ali, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
McKinsey researchers also found that the gap in digital transformation maturity between market leaders and laggards has increased by 60% over the past three years.
—Igor Rikalo, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Sean Conlon,lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 25 Mar. 2026
The California Democratic Party pitched its new, periodic polls as a way to help voters and campaigns make sense of the unusually wide-open race for governor — and help encourage laggards to quit the race.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
The conflict is creating leaders and laggards, JPMorgan analysts wrote Monday.
—Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The performance gap between fast learners and laggards is widening.
—Matthew C. Meade, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
There have been a few gaming laggards, including European publisher Ubisoft (down 44%) and accessory specialist Corsair (down 35%).
—Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 21 Jan. 2026
While laggards optimize margins, leaders accelerate into new markets, building capabilities that compound.
—Mohamad Ali, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
McKinsey researchers also found that the gap in digital transformation maturity between market leaders and laggards has increased by 60% over the past three years.
—Igor Rikalo, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laggards
Noun
-
Prickly pears sprout; snails emerge from shells.—
Selina Denman,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Its anatomy is unusual even compared to related snails.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Yankees and Giants played the official first game of the season, but the majority of teams began play on March 26 (with a few stragglers on March 27).—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Wolves commonly kill stragglers, but though some of these animals are weak, others are not.—
Frank Glaser,
Outdoor Life,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laggards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laggards. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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