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lollygag

verb

ˈlä-lē-ˌgag How to pronounce lollygag (audio)
variants also lallygag
Definition of lollygagnext
as in to delay
to move or act slowly accused the government of lollygagging while survivors of the earthquake continued to live in the most wretched conditions

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lollygag Knueppel didn’t seem to know how to lollygag through a workout, even one of the early-morning shootarounds where NBA players are just waking up. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lollygag
  1. delay
  2. linger
  3. crawl
  4. drag
  5. poke
  6. dawdle
  7. stroll
Verb
  • Some of that January increase reflects workers who secured jobs during the final months of the previous year but delayed their start dates.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pouring billions of dollars into developing a domestic tech ecosystem under his Vision 2030 program, even as some mega-projects are delayed.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of delay
Verb
  • Still, there was a cloud of public doubt lingering over the event.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The afterburn of his relationship with Charleson lingers affectingly, though.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of linger
Verb
  • In fact, agents are better equipped to do this than LLMs, as they can be configured more accurately to crawl certain sites or sources and therefore return more accurate results.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Their mother had crawled, wounded, on the floor before the brothers fired a final, fatal blast.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • And my sister dragged me to Loulu, the café-market with an Erewhon collaboration and Cosmic Bliss soft-serve, a lovely afternoon fix for those of us on the East Coast without an Erewhon.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Potelle’s home — like many others’ — remains contaminated as disputes with her insurance company drag on.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of drag
Verb
  • The dog’s ribs poked out, her skin was irritated and red, and patches of fur were missing — a possible sign of mange.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Natural light pokes through the windows, adding a trademark freshness to an indoor coliseum.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of poke
Verb
  • Gvardiol looked jittery early on, rallied a little to break up some dangerous Porto attacks, but then started giving the ball away again and was booked for a needless pull after being caught dawdling in possession.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Don’t dawdle, though, as the air temperature in the room or your warm hand on the glass can transfer their thermal energy to melt the rest of the ice and then begin to raise the temperature of your drink!
    — Matthew Koss, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of dawdle
Verb
  • The setting is contemporary Paris in crisis, when civil unrest, rather amorphously presented apart from increasing numbers of military on the streets, makes evening strolls potentially problematic.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
  • With a nod from the person at the desk, we were buzzed out and strolled straight onto the tarmac to mount up.
    — Andrew P. Collins, The Drive, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of stroll

Browse Nearby Words

lolly
lollygag
lollygagged
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Cite this Entry

“Lollygag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lollygag. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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