Join free

shag

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

shag¹

  • /ˈʃæɡ/ US, UK
  • /ˈʃaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈʃæːɡ/ Australia
  • /ˈʃɛɡ/ New Zealand
  • /ˈʃeɪɡ/

Rhymes with -æɡ

Where it comes from

From Middle English *schagge, from Old English sċeacga (“hair, wool”), from Proto-Germanic *skaggô, *skaggiją (“projection, bristly hair, stem”), *skag- (“to emerge, stick out, protrude”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kek- (“to jump, move, hurry”).

Akin to Old Norse skegg (“beard”) (compare Danish skæg, Norwegian skjegg, Swedish skägg). Related to shake and shock via the root.

noun shags

  1. countable, uncountable Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc. Nor ſhould it prove thy leſs important Care, / To chuſe a proper Coat for Winter's Wear. / [...] / True Witney Broad-cloath with it's Shag unſhorn, / Unpierc'd is in the laſting Tempeſt worn: [...]
  2. countable, uncountable Coarse shredded tobacco. He was rather unshaven as well and smelt strongly of shag.
  3. countable, uncountable A type of rough carpet pile.
  4. Ireland, UK, archaic, countable, uncountable Bacon or fat, especially if with some remaining hair or bristles.
  5. Ireland, UK, archaic, countable, uncountable A roughly-cut or torn-off piece of bread or cheese. But it is a braw elemental sphere this o' ours, for here's a good queich o' claret for ye, an' a shag o' butter-an'-bread.
  6. attributive, countable, often, uncountable A deliberately messy, shaggy hairstyle. There was that hair salon on Yonge Street called House of Lords. On a Saturday – nowadays you can't even imagine it – but imagine a hair salon having a lineup outside of people wanting to get a shag haircut.

    Similar: shaggy cut

verb shags · shagging · shagged

  1. transitive To make hairy or shaggy; to roughen. He saw the pine its daring mantle rear, / Break the rude blast, and mock the brumal year / Shag the green zone that bounds the boreal skies, / And bid all southern vegetation rise.
  2. intransitive, obsolete To hang in shaggy clusters. And long curld locks that downe his shoulders shag

adjective more shag · most shag

  1. obsolete Hairy; shaggy. Son. Thou liest, thou shag-hair'd villain!

shag²

  • /ˈʃæɡ/ US, UK
  • /ˈʃaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈʃæːɡ/ Australia
  • /ˈʃɛɡ/ New Zealand
  • /ˈʃeɪɡ/

Rhymes with -æɡ

Where it comes from

Unknown. Perhaps a derivative of Etymology 1, above, with reference to the shaggy crest of the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis).

noun shags

  1. Any of several species of sea birds in the family Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant family), especially a common shag or European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), found on European and African coasts. He ran back and picked up a dead bird that had fallen. It was not a duck but a shag.

shag³

  • /ˈʃæɡ/ US, UK
  • /ˈʃaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈʃæːɡ/ Australia
  • /ˈʃɛɡ/ New Zealand
  • /ˈʃeɪɡ/

Rhymes with -æɡ

Where it comes from

From Middle English schaggen, a variant of Middle English schoggen (“to shake; shake off; tremble”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a byform of Middle English schokken (“to shake; move rapidly”), related to Middle Low German schokken (“to shake; tremble”). Alternatively, perhaps ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *skakkōn (“to shake”), specifically continuing a post-Proto-Germanic variant *skagg-, where the non-singular stem *skag- caused the analogical replacement of the stem-final voiceless geminate consonants with voiced geminates, which was then leveled throughout the paradigm.

verb shags · shagging · shagged

  1. intransitive To shake, wiggle around.

    Similar: jiggle, rock, tremble, quake, shag, shake, vibrate, wiggle

  2. Australia, Ireland, UK, slang, transitive, vulgar To have sex with. Every time since has been a disaster. Our sex life always has been. After k.b.ing me for ages, she’d eventually let me shag her.

    Similar: Formal terms, bed, coit, coitize, dight, enjoy, feague, go in unto, go to bed with, have, know, lie by

  3. Australia, Ireland, UK, intransitive, slang, vulgar To have sex. I'm not pregnant! I have shagged and shagged and shagged and all the little bastards missed!

    Similar: approach, cohabit, common, company, copulate, couple, engage in sex, exchange flesh, have intimate relations, have marital relations, have sex, have sexual relations

  4. India, slang, transitive, vulgar To masturbate.

    Similar: abuse, bash one out, bate, beat it, beat off, crank one out, fap, frig, goon, jack off, jack it, jerk

  5. To chase after; especially, to chase after and return (a ball) hit usually out of play. Chris is off somewhere in the darkness, but I'm not going to shag after him.
  6. uncommon To perform the dance called the shag. Showman Monte Proser tried to cash in on the boom on a mass basis with his Dance Carnival in Madison Square Garden, where dancers lindy hopped, shagged and fox-trotted to the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Larry Clinton and Charlie Barnett[…]

noun shags

  1. capitalized, sometimes A swing dance. 'Most modern dances were invented here,' said Leiter. 'That's how good it is. The Lindy Hop, Truckin', the Susie Q, the Shag. All started on that floor. Every big American band you've ever heard of is proud that it once played here - Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Noble Sissle, Fletc
  2. slang, vulgar An act of sex. They were in the midst of an intense snog, his tongue down her throat as he tried to work out if he wanted another shag before she left for the night, when an odd noise sounded from behind the door of 2B.

    Similar: aphrodisia, carnal knowledge, coitus, coition, commerce, commixtion, congress, conjunction, connection, consummation, conversation, copulation

  3. slang, vulgar A casual sexual partner. Lizzy is a shag extraordinaire, but has a tongue like a sailor and a castrating stare.

shag⁴

  • /ˈʃæɡ/ US, UK
  • /ˈʃaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈʃæːɡ/ Australia
  • /ˈʃɛɡ/ New Zealand
  • /ˈʃeɪɡ/

Rhymes with -æɡ

Where it comes from

Blend of shower (“bridal shower”) + stag (“bachelor party”).

noun shags

  1. Northwestern, Ontario A fundraising dance in honour of a couple engaged to be married.

    Similar: stag and doe, stag and doe party, social, wedding social

shag⁵

  • /ˈʃæɡ/ US, UK
  • /ˈʃaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈʃæːɡ/ Australia
  • /ˈʃɛɡ/ New Zealand
  • /ˈʃeɪɡ/

Rhymes with -æɡ

Where it comes from

Unknown.

noun shags

  1. West Country Friend; mate; buddy. I'm fcuked then mate. Born and bred sarf london and the missarse is a brummie. Oh and her old man is a scouser!!¶ You all still sound like a bunch of inbreds though but it's better than the Hereford accent "alright shag where you be"

    Similar: friend

shag⁶

  • /ˈʃæɡ/ US, UK
  • /ˈʃaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈʃæːɡ/ Australia
  • /ˈʃɛɡ/ New Zealand
  • /ˈʃeɪɡ/

Rhymes with -æɡ

Where it comes from

From shagged or shagged out, originally British colloquialisms.

adjective more shag · most shag · shack

  1. Singapore, Singlish, slang Exhausted, worn out, extremely tired. I suppose they could not really blame us for feeling so shack after doing PT, drill and other boring lessons in the morning.
  2. Singapore, Singlish, slang, of an activity Tough and exhausting.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: screwing, ass, screw, hump, kissing, kiss, blow, train, knock, bang, hit, shot, skip, jump, jumping, apartment

Translations

Every language

noun matted material

Portuguêsguedelha, grenha
Italianointreccio, viluppo, intrico
Ελληνικάφλόκι flóki

noun coarse shredded tobacco

Françaistabac à rouler
Italianotrinciato, tabacco grossolano
Русскиймахо́рка maxórka

noun sea bird

Españolcormorán, cormorán moñudo
中文欧鸬鹚 oulúcí
Portuguêscorvo-marinho
Françaiscormoran huppé
DeutschKrähenscharbe
Italianomarangone
Русскийбакла́н baklán

verb to have sex with

Españoljoder
日本語エッチする etchi suru, 犯す okasu, ファックする fakku suru, やる yaru
中文幹 /干 gàn, 搞 gǎo
Portuguêscomer
Françaissauter, baiser
Deutschbumsen, ficken
Italianoscopare, chiavare
Русскийтра́хать tráxatʹ
Tiếng Việtquan hệ tình dục

verb to shake

Portuguêsagitar
Italianodimenarsi, agitarsi
Русскиймеша́ть mešátʹ, трясти́ trjastí

verb to chase after

Italianopedinare, seguire, stare alle calcagna
Русскийгоня́ться gonjátʹsja

noun swing dance

Русскийшэг šɛg

noun act of sex

Españolpolvo
Portuguêsfoda
Françaisbaise
DeutschFick
Italianoscopata
Ελληνικάγαμήσι gamísi
Русскийтра́ханье tráxanʹje

noun sexual partner

Españolpolvo
Portuguêsfoda
DeutschFickpartner, Fickpartnerin, Fick
Italianocompagno
Русскийтра́халь tráxalʹ, тра́хальщица tráxalʹščica

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"shag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shag. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

shag. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shag

Chicago

"shag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shag.

BibTeX
@misc{shag_2026,
  title = {shag},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shag},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}