Library / English Dictionary

FLAG

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: flagged    , flagging   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A conspicuously marked or shaped tail

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("flag" is a kind of...):

tail (the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body)

Holonyms ("flag" is a part of...):

Canis familiaris; dog; domestic dog (a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds)

cervid; deer (distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("flag" is a kind of...):

emblem (special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flag"):

ensign; national flag (an emblem flown as a symbol of nationality)

yellow jack (yellow flag hoist on a ship in quarantine)

flag of truce; white flag (flag consisting of a piece of white cloth that is hoisted to signal surrender or to ask for a truce)

Union flag; Union Jack (national flag of the United Kingdom)

tricolor; tricolour (a flag having three colored stripes (especially the French flag))

Confederate flag; Stars and Bars (the first flag of the Confederate States of America)

banner; standard (any distinctive flag)

pennant; pennon; streamer; waft (a long flag; often tapering)

jack (small flag indicating a ship's nationality)

fanion (a small flag used by surveyors or soldiers to mark a position)

colors; colours (a flag that shows its nationality)

black flag; blackjack; Jolly Roger; pirate flag (a flag usually bearing a white skull and crossbones on a black background; indicates a pirate ship)

battle flag (a flag that leads troops into battle)

banner; streamer (long strip of cloth or paper used for decoration or advertising)

American flag; Old Glory; Star-Spangled Banner; Stars and Stripes (the national flag of the United States of America)

Derivation:

flag (communicate or signal with a flag)

flag (decorate with flags)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Stratified stone that splits into pieces suitable as paving stones

Synonyms:

flag; flagstone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("flag" is a kind of...):

paving stone (a stone used for paving)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green

Synonyms:

flag; pin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("flag" is a kind of...):

golf equipment (sports equipment used in playing golf)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A listing printed in all issues of a newspaper or magazine (usually on the editorial page) that gives the name of the publication and the names of the editorial staff, etc.

Synonyms:

flag; masthead

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("flag" is a kind of...):

list; listing (a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics))

Sense 6

Meaning:

A rectangular piece of fabric used as a signalling device

Synonyms:

flag; signal flag

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("flag" is a kind of...):

visual signal (a signal that involves visual communication)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flag"):

red flag (a flag that serves as a warning signal)

code flag; nautical signal flag (one of an international code of flag signals used between ships)

pennant (a flag longer than it is wide (and often tapering))

Derivation:

flag (communicate or signal with a flag)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals

Synonyms:

flag; fleur-de-lis; iris; sword lily

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("flag" is a kind of...):

iridaceous plant (any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "flag"):

bearded iris (any of numerous wild or cultivated irises with hairlike structures on the falls (the drooping sepals))

beardless iris (any of numerous wild or cultivated irises having no hairs on the drooping sepals (the falls))

bulbous iris (any of various irises having a rootstock formed like a bulb)

dwarf iris; Iris cristata (low-growing summer-flowering iris of northeastern United States)

gladdon; gladdon iris; Iris foetidissima; roast beef plant; stinking gladwyn; stinking iris (iris with purple flowers and foul-smelling leaves; southern and western Europe and North Africa)

Iris persica; Persian iris (bulbous iris native to Asia Minor cultivated for its pale lilac-colored flowers)

Iris pseudacorus; yellow flag; yellow iris; yellow water flag (common yellow-flowered iris of Europe and North Africa, naturalized in United States and often cultivated)

dwarf iris; Iris verna; vernal iris (low-growing spring-flowering American iris with bright blue-lilac flowers)

blue flag; Iris versicolor (a common iris of the eastern United States having blue or blue-violet flowers; root formerly used medicinally)

Iris virginica; southern blue flag (similar to blue flag; the eastern United States)

English iris; Iris xiphioides (bulbous iris native to the Pyrenees; widely cultivated for its large delicate flowers in various colors except yellow)

Holonyms ("flag" is a member of...):

genus Iris (large genus of perennials that develop from bulbs or rhizomes)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become less intense

Synonyms:

ease off; ease up; flag; slacken off

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "flag" is one way to...):

decrease; diminish; fall; lessen (decrease in size, extent, or range)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Provide with a flag

Example:

Flag this file so that I can recognize it immediately

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "flag" is one way to...):

mark (make or leave a mark on)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Communicate or signal with a flag

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "flag" is one way to...):

sign; signal; signalise; signalize (communicate silently and non-verbally by signals or signs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Also:

flag down (signal to stop)

Derivation:

flag (emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design)

flag (a rectangular piece of fabric used as a signalling device)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Decorate with flags

Example:

the building was flagged for the holiday

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "flag" is one way to...):

adorn; beautify; decorate; embellish; grace; ornament (make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

flag (emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness

Synonyms:

droop; flag; sag; swag

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "flag" is one way to...):

drop; drop down; sink (fall or descend to a lower place or level)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "flag"):

slouch; slump (assume a drooping posture or carriage)

bag (hang loosely, like an empty bag)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Credits

 Context examples: 

Poole stamped on the flags of the corridor.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

In my second interview with Mr. Hilton Cubitt he was able to give me two other short sentences and one message, which appeared—since there was no flag—to be a single word.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But, scientists rely on gamma rays, the most energetic form of light, to brightly flag what cosmic source is producing these neutrinos and cosmic rays.

(NASA’s Fermi Traces Source of Cosmic Neutrino to Monster Black Hole, NASA)

He, rushing up the steps, crossed the flagged yard, and pushed open the stable door.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The institution never flagged for want of a story, I am certain; and the wine lasted out almost as well as the matter.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And with the exception of a solitary man, no one saw them arrive at the little flag station known as College Park.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

“Nor from below,” said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And never did it flag in its pursuit of him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

They used a technique to investigate 15 biomarkers – biological ‘red flags’ – associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease.

(Inflammation links heart disease and depression, University of Cambridge)

After the initial detections of the comet, Scout system, which is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, automatically flagged the object as possibly being interstellar.

(Newly Discovered Comet Is Likely Interstellar Visitor, NASA)