sag (1) — ONAD

sag1 /saɡ, sæɡ

▸ verb

(sags, sagging, sagged)

[no object]

1 sink, subside, or bulge downward under weight or pressure or through lack of strength:

the bed sagged in the middle

he closed his eyes and sagged against the wall.

▪ hang down loosely or unevenly:

stockings that sagged at the knees.

▪ (of a ship) bend longitudinally so that the middle is lower than the ends. Compare with hog.

2 decline to a lower level, usually temporarily:

exports are forging ahead while home sales sag.

▸ noun

1 a downward curve or bulge in a structure caused by weakness or excessive weight or pressure:

a sag in the middle necessitated a third set of wheels.

▪ Geometry the amount of a sag, measured as the perpendicular distance from the middle of the curve to the straight line between the two supporting points.

2 a decline, especially a temporary one.

– PHRASAL VERBS
sag off

1 (also sag someone off, sag off someone) Basketball
position oneself closer to the basket when guarding an opposing player:

when they sag off, he has all the time in the world to find a teammate cutting to the basket

opposing defenders often sagged off him.

2 (also sag off something) Northern English informal
play truant from school:

he sagged off from Double Maths

we regularly sagged off school at lunchtimes to relax at my house.

– ORIGIN late Middle English (as a verb): apparently related to Middle Low German sacken, Dutch zakken ‘subside’.