dally
verb (used without object)
to waste time; loiter; delay.
dallies
-
present tense formof dally (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
The author gallops through vital moments in world history across the centuries but dallies over what seem like niche aspects of medieval French history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Nightmare for stand-in Dons captain Angus MacDonald as he dallies on the ball and is dispossessed by Kyogo Furuhashi.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2024
In the second act, she goes to Vassar, dallies with a fellow student and with a publisher — thoroughly modern Millay — and then Mr. Scanlan’s interest in chronology, never very strong, gives up altogether.
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2018
He’s got options either side, but dillies and dallies.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 12, 2015
Sickness blinds the eye that God framed to pierce the seas, and weakens the wing that dallies with the tempest.
From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2) by John Lyde Wilson
