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
Grooming and health care were the two laggards of the portfolio.
—
Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026
Cyclical shares such as autos, banks and industrials were also among the biggest laggards.
—Levin Stamm, Bloomberg, 20 Apr. 2026
Sunday saw many laggards penalized for failure to obey the national summons.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 1 Apr. 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
Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026
Cyclical shares such as autos, banks and industrials were also among the biggest laggards.
—Levin Stamm, Bloomberg, 20 Apr. 2026
Sunday saw many laggards penalized for failure to obey the national summons.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 1 Apr. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laggards
Noun
-
The tide pools around Haystack and elsewhere along Cannon Beach are extraordinary, with colorful sea stars, anemones, crabs, snails, coral, sponges, and sea slugs.—
Kara Williams,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
-
In addition to helping keep snails and slugs from snacking on your plants, Handley says, the eggshells will biodegrade naturally, and providing a small calcium boost to your garden soil.—
Peg Aloi,
The Spruce,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This spring, Brood II stragglers will emerge between late April and May in states like Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, and North Carolina, according to a map from the University of Connecticut.—
Finch Walker,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2026
-
They’re known, aptly, as stragglers.—
Addy Bink,
The Hill,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Laggards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laggards. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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