Steps on Screen

What Does Drag Mean on a Computer?

To drag is to hold down the mouse button while you move the pointer, then let go. Dragging moves things on the screen, such as a file into a folder, or highlights the words you move across. Letting go is sometimes called dropping, so dragging is also called drag and drop.

What it looks like

A drawing of a file being dragged into a folder. A dotted path runs from the file to the folder, with three labels along it: Press and hold at the file, Move in the middle, and Let go at the folder.

You press and hold the left mouse button on the thing you want to move, slide the mouse, and let go of the button where you want it. On a touchpad or trackpad, you press down and keep pressing while you slide your finger. While you drag a file, a faint copy of it moves with the pointer.

Lessons that use this word

See every computer word