Meaning & use
saggy
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Hanging down or dipping in the middle because something has lost its tightness or support.
Grammar: Describes objects like mattresses, shelves or clothes: a saggy sofa.
Patterns
- a saggy something
- get saggy
The old mattress was saggy in the middle.
He pulled up his saggy socks before the match.
A saggy roof means the beams may be rotting.
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Of skin or body parts, loose and lacking firmness.
Grammar: Can sound unkind about a person's body, so use with care.
Patterns
- saggy skin
Elephants have thick, saggy skin around their knees.
Doctors explained why skin gets saggy with age.
The bulldog had saggy cheeks that wobbled when it ran.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Weak, dull or lacking energy in a way that disappoints, such as a story or plot.
Grammar: Figurative: the saggy middle of a film.
Patterns
- a saggy middle
Critics complained about the saggy middle of the movie.
The team's saggy performance lost them the game.
The novel starts well but gets saggy halfway through.
Word forms
| comparative | saggier |
|---|---|
| superlative | saggiest |
Common combinations
- saggy skin
- Stretching exercises can help with saggy skin.
- saggy jeans
- He wore saggy jeans that slid down his hips.
- saggy mattress
- I woke up with a sore back from the saggy mattress.
- saggy middle
- The film has a saggy middle but a great ending.
- saggy belly
- The old dog had a saggy belly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drooping
- Drooping suggests hanging downward from tiredness or lack of water, as flowers do.
- floppy
- Floppy suggests something soft and easily moved, while saggy suggests slack and tired.
- slack
- Slack means not tight, as with a rope, and is less about drooping in the middle.
- baggy
- Baggy describes clothes cut loosely on purpose, while saggy implies losing shape.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: saggy or baggy?
saggy vs baggy
Baggy clothes are loose by design, but saggy ones have lost their shape or support.
Practice
The shelf became ___ in the middle after years of holding heavy books.
Choose one answer.
Saggy describes something that dips down after losing support. Sticky refers to adhesive surfaces and would not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “saggy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.