tarry

¹

[tar-ee]

verb (used without object)

tarried, tarrying 

1. to remain or stay, as in a place; sojourn.

   He tarried in Baltimore on his way to Washington.

   Synonyms: abide, stop, lodge, rest
   Antonyms: leave

2. to delay or be tardy in acting, starting, coming, etc.; linger or loiter.

3. to wait.

verb (used with object)

tarried, tarrying 

1. Archaic.,  to wait for.

noun

plural

tarries 

1. a stay; sojourn.

tarry

²

[tahr-ee]

adjective

tarrier, tarriest 

1. of or like tar; smeared with tar.

tarry

/ ˈtærɪ /

verb

1. (intr) to delay in coming or going; linger

2. (intr) to remain temporarily or briefly

3. (intr) to wait or stay

4. archaic,  (tr) to await

noun

1. rare,  a stay

Other Word Forms

• tarrier noun
• untarried adjective
• untarrying adjective
• tarriness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tarry¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English taryen “to delay,” tary “a delay”; origin unknown

Origin of tarry²

First recorded in 1545–55; tar ¹ + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of tarry¹

C14 tarien, of uncertain origin

Synonym Study

See wait.

Example Sentences

But we could not tarry long there out in the open.

Read more on Literature

The ticking watch urged him not to tarry.

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His stiff blue shorts were striped with tarry blackness.

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In the western province of Alberta, where many ferocious wildfires burned, huge deposits of thick crude oil, mixed with tarry sand, sit beneath the forest and near the snaking Athabasca River.

Read more on Washington Times

But thick mats of tarry petroleum asphalt cover portions of sandbars, oil-speckled rocks and bushes line the shore and the wreckage of a tank car juts from the middle of the river.

Read more on Seattle Times