dally with

phrasal verb

dallied with; dallying with; dallies with

: to do or think about (something) in a way that is not serious

He's been dallying with the idea of running for office.

old-fashioned : to have a casual romantic or sexual relationship with (someone)

a married man who has been dallying with another woman

Examples of dally with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And the Green Bay Packers, playing the role of a merry divorcé post-Aaron Rodgers trade, dallied with new playmakers. —

Mike Tanier, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dally with.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.