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
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Touching Spirit Bear
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Languor Management: Synonyms for "Lazy"
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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:
She has set a six-minute daily time limit as a reminder not to dawdle on Instagram.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
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
A bouncy strut, a dart-and-weave, a dawdle with a dog.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2023
“I hope I shall have done something to be proud of by that time, but I’m such a lazy dog, I’m afraid I shall dawdle, Jo.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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
The story dawdles through its first and second acts, but in its final third does find a more deliberate pace.
From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2022
I am delighted you have put a stop to that folly," said the Colonel; "that boy dawdles over here every afternoon.
From Bluebell A Novel by Mrs. George Croft Huddleston
Later, at Brasserie de Monaco, the principality’s craft beer brewery, I dawdled over a pint of Blonde de Monaco and fell into conversation with Nils, a Danish skipper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
When the horses eventually broke from the gate, Zenyatta, as usual, dawdled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2023
Vince and Conway were able to re-find the highest gear, helped by an Originals side that dawdled through their 100 balls.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 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
They had more work to do, but he dawdled, hanging back in the shadows of a side alley.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
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
Havertz initially looked well offside until a glance revealed the dawdling veteran playing him on, leaving Trossard the grateful beneficiary.
From BBC ● May 12, 2024
Wearing an electric blue jacket emblazoned with the words “Tell Your Dog I Said Hi,” she crouches low to film a dawdling old pug named Jojo with her iPhone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2024
Close enough to tell me I should stop dawdling and get to work.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
