flagging

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of flag

1. Becoming tired or less dynamic; declining in strength; dwindling.

   These cars without doubt were the salvation of the C.I.E. network, as they provided fast, economical services with a degree of comfort which did much to retrieve a flagging passenger traffic.

   1960 August, L. Hyland, “The Irish Scene”, in Trains Illustrated, page 467

plural flaggings

1. countableuncountableA pavement or sidewalk of flagstones; flagstones, collectively.
2. countableuncountableThe process by which something flags or tires.

   That secret intoxication of pleasure, with all those transient flushings of guilt and joy, which the poet represents in our first parents upon their eating the forbidden fruit, to those flaggings of spirit, damps of sorrow, and mutual accusations which succeed it […]

   1712 April 22 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, April 12, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 351; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume IV, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC

3. countableuncountablebroadcastingThe skewing or bending of the upper part of a television picture due to imperfect synchronization of the video signal.

   Because older TVs are not able to respond quickly enough to the horizontal time-base errors introduced from the VCR, a VCR connected to an older TV may cause severe bending or flagging at the top of the picture yet appear to operate normally on a newer TV set.

   1998, Robert Brenner, Gregory Capelo, VCR Troubleshooting and Repair, page 158

4. countableuncountableUse of a handkerchief code or analogous display to signal sexual interests.