time lag noun 1time-lag verb 1forms 4 noun1 •A period of time between one event and another; a delay.Owing to the time lag which must occur between the dates of closing for press and publication, it sometimes happens that items of news are out of date, or inaccurate, by the time they reach readers. — 1947 time-lag verb1 •To delay between one event and another. formstime-lagged · time-lagging · time-lags · time lags