Meaning & use
foot dragger
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A person who delays or avoids taking action, especially by being slow or uncooperative.
Grammar: Countable noun: a foot dragger, the foot draggers. Often used with 'be' or 'become'.
Patterns
- be a foot dragger
- accuse someone of being a foot dragger
- the foot draggers in the party
The manager called him a foot dragger because he kept postponing the project.
The foot draggers in the Senate blocked the new law.
Don't be a foot dragger—we need to decide today.
Word forms
| plural | foot draggers |
|---|
Common combinations
- be a foot dragger
- He is a foot dragger when it comes to making changes.
- accused of being a foot dragger
- The minister was accused of being a foot dragger on climate policy.
- the foot draggers in the party
- The foot draggers in the party delayed the vote.
Synonyms and how they differ
- procrastinator
- A procrastinator delays tasks out of habit or laziness, while a foot dragger often delays deliberately to avoid or block something.
- delayer
- A delayer simply causes something to happen later; a foot dragger suggests unwillingness or resistance.
- obstructionist
- An obstructionist actively blocks progress, while a foot dragger is more passive, using slowness as resistance.
Opposites
Word family
- foot-dragging noun
- The act of delaying or being slow to act.
- drag one's feet phrase
- To delay or act slowly on purpose.
Commonly confused: foot dragger or foot-dragging?
foot dragger vs foot-dragging
Foot-dragging is the action or behavior of delaying; a foot dragger is the person who does it.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'foot dragger' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Foot dragger' is an informal disapproving noun for a person who delays. It is not used literally about feet or shoes, so the other options are incorrect.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “foot dragger”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.