as in snail
someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others
by three o'clock, only a few stragglers were still making their painful way to the marathon's finish
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Recent Examples of straggler
Getting rid of the Super Bowl stragglers is awkward.
—
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
And the one straggler in that group is Draymond Green.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Get those ballots filled out, stragglers.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
The last few stragglers are set to report quarterly results this week.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 7 Dec. 2025
Its companions are four Russian mobsters — stragglers from the previous season — laying on their stomachs with their necks outstretched over the rail.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
The last Orionid stragglers usually appear sometime in early to mid-November.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Lightly prune the fern to remove dead fronds, long stragglers, and any fronds that are damaged.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
Weakened stragglers were shot or simply collapsed and died on the road.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
And the one straggler in that group is Draymond Green.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Get those ballots filled out, stragglers.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2026
The last few stragglers are set to report quarterly results this week.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 7 Dec. 2025
Its companions are four Russian mobsters — stragglers from the previous season — laying on their stomachs with their necks outstretched over the rail.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
The last Orionid stragglers usually appear sometime in early to mid-November.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Lightly prune the fern to remove dead fronds, long stragglers, and any fronds that are damaged.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
Weakened stragglers were shot or simply collapsed and died on the road.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straggler
snail
Noun
-
There are close-ups of hands kneading dough, a snail sliming its way up a window and Cathy prodding a jellied fish with her finger.—
Emily Zemler,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Pest Control with Cardboard Slugs and snails are drawn to cool, damp cardboard.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Straggler.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straggler. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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