dawdle

verb

daw·​dle ˈdȯ-dᵊl 

dawdled; dawdling ˈdȯ-dliŋ 

-dᵊl-iŋ

intransitive verb

1

: to spend time idly

… dawdled about in the vestibule …

—Jane Austen

2

: to move lackadaisically

"I don't want you dawdling while you making deliveries for Mrs. Ford."

—Connie Porter

transitive verb

: to spend fruitlessly or lackadaisically

dawdled the day away

dawdler

ˈdȯ-dlər 

-dᵊl-ər

noun

Synonyms

• crawl
• creep
• dally
• delay
• diddle
• dillydally
• drag
• lag
• linger
• loiter
• lollygag
• lallygag
• mope
• poke
• shilly-shally
• tarry

Choose the Right Synonym for dawdle

delay, procrastinate, lag, loiter, dawdle, dally mean to move or act slowly so as to fall behind.

delay usually implies a putting off of something (such as a beginning or departure).

we cannot delay any longer

procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.

procrastinates about making decisions

lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others.

lagging behind in technology

loiter and dawdle imply delay while in progress, especially in walking, but dawdle more clearly suggests an aimless wasting of time.

loitered at several store windows

children dawdling on their way home from school

dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary.

stop dallying and get to work

Examples of dawdle in a Sentence

Hurry up! There's no time to dawdle.

Come home immediately after school, and don't dawdle.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ukrainian officials dawdled on implementing U.S.-proposed reforms to increase civilian control of the military, expand professional military education, and clean up the corrupt defense procurement system. —Polina Beliakova, Foreign Affairs, 17 Mar. 2023

His fingers dawdled over my remedies, but his gaze was locked on my face. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2024

Outside Parliament, a small cluster of policemen were dawdling on the sidewalk. —Nadia Beard, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2024

Despite these results, however, some Western critics argued that the deal afforded Russia an illegitimate role in deciding its victim’s future and allowed the EU to dawdle on toughening sanctions. —Elizabeth Pond, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2015

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

dawdle

verb

daw·​dle ˈdȯd-ᵊl 

dawdled; dawdling ˈdȯd-liŋ 

-ᵊl-iŋ

1

: to spend time wastefully or idly : linger

dawdled over her homework

2

: to move slowly and aimlessly : loiter

dawdled on the way back

3

: idle entry 2 sense 1

dawdle the time away

dawdler

ˈdȯd-lər 

-ᵊl-ər

noun