dawdle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
dawdles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dawdled,
past participle, past
-
dawdling
present participle
-
to waste time; idle; trifle; loiter.
Stop dawdling and help me with these packages!
-
to move slowly, languidly, or dilatorily; saunter.
verb (used with object)
-
dawdles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dawdled,
past participle, past
-
dawdling
present participle
verb
-
(intr) to be slow or lag behind
-
to waste (time); trifle
Synonym Usage
See loiter.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dawdlesimple
-
dawdlessimple
-
have dawdledperfect
-
has dawdledperfect
-
am dawdlingprogressive
-
are dawdlingprogressive
-
is dawdlingprogressive
-
have been dawdlingperfect progressive
-
has been dawdlingperfect progressive
Past
-
dawdledsimple
-
had dawdledperfect
-
was dawdlingprogressive
-
were dawdlingprogressive
-
had been dawdlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dawdle
First recorded in 1650–60; variant of daddle “to toddle”
Explanation
There are lots of words that mean to move slowly. The point of dawdle is that one is moving too slowly, is falling behind, or is not properly focused on making progress. One way to remember the meaning of dawdle is that it rhymes with "waddle," as in, "a duck waddles." Imagine what would happen if you waddled instead of walked. It would take a lot more time, and your companion might say, "Don't dawdle!" Dawdle implies not only taking extra time but actually wasting it. A leisurely walk in the woods is one thing, but if you have to get to the theater on time, don't dawdle along the way: you'll miss the curtain!
Vocabulary lists containing dawdle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But old rival Messi is on 931 goals, the second highest scorer ever, so Ronaldo cannot afford to dawdle too much...
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
While these cities dawdle, the region’s residents suffer the effects of the housing shortage: high rents, overcrowding, eviction and homelessness.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2024
If a few passengers dawdle while stowing their bag and finding their seat, it can make the difference between a flight being on time or late in the government’s official statistics.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
Allison said it’s important for investigators not to dawdle.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 25, 2023
“Please don’t dawdle, young William. You have a task ahead of you.”
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
If Minnesota dawdles, it “will rack up $1 billion of deferred payments this year,” the CMS head said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
It is the role of prosecutors to vindicate that interest by initiating judicial action when a defendant dawdles.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2024
And yet, he almost takes pride in his ability to put things off, saying he dawdles on an “Olympic level.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2023
Weyman’s cloak-and-rapier swashbuckler is long — over 400 pages in my edition — but its action never dawdles.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2021
But he dawdles and twaddles so much over details, we have generally done very little before the hour ends, when he says, 'I will not detain you any longer.'
From Story of My Life, volumes 1-3 by Augustus J. C. Hare
The ship dawdled for weeks, racking up bills, until a different harbor admitted it, according to the filings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Called for a single by Foakes, Stokes dawdled and was beaten by a direct hit from Shreyas at mid-wicket.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
When the horses eventually broke from the gate, Zenyatta, as usual, dawdled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2023
She had been performing well in recent months, Ms. Loesche said, but today she had dawdled by the door, hesitant to step inside.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2023
When I got done with work, I dawdled putting my apron in the laundry.
From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles
"The film has a few scattered giggles, but it's dawdling and cumbersome, and far less 'relevant' than it thinks," read a review from the Hollywood trade publication Variety.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
I hastened my step to my car, not dawdling for a second to check messages once planted in the driver’s seat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Cut a dawdling fight scene here and an interminable escape scene there, and the film would make a delightful in-universe companion to precede next summer’s “Superman” sequel, “Man of Tomorrow.”
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
Like, just in case someone’s dawdling, or being careless about where they’re dumping snow.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2026
“Tastes very good, yes? Quit dawdling, Monkey. I’m garbage at chess.”
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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