tarry
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
adjective
verb
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(intr) to delay in coming or going; linger
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(intr) to remain temporarily or briefly
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(intr) to wait or stay
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archaic (tr) to await
noun
Synonym Usage
See wait.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tarrysimple
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tarriessimple
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have tarriedperfect
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has tarriedperfect
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am tarryingprogressive
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are tarryingprogressive
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is tarryingprogressive
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have been tarryingperfect progressive
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has been tarryingperfect progressive
Past
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tarriedsimple
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had tarriedperfect
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was tarryingprogressive
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were tarryingprogressive
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had been tarryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tarry1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English taryen “to delay,” tary “a delay”; origin unknown
Origin of tarry2
Explanation
To tarry is to linger and take your time leaving. If you really like going to Sally’s Diner for dessert, you might tarry over coffee and end up leaving after they’ve closed the kitchen. The verb tarry is perfect for describing what happens when those relatives that you see once a year come to your house for lunch and never seem to leave. When people tarry they stick around and take a long time to depart, sometimes lurking or loitering, or sometimes enjoying each other's company. Tarry can also mean to hang around a place without purpose. You might tarry in the park until the day is fading and you have to go home.
Vocabulary lists containing tarry
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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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:
Bright red stool, dark or tarry stool, or mucus in the stool can be associated with bleeding somewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, colon, or rectum.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Brands never lets his subject tarry long enough to freeze into marmoreal stillness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
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.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
Thick mats of tarry petroleum asphalt cover portions of sandbars.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
She looked up at the sky and I saw her eyes were a solid, tarry black.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
In one clever bit of staging, Hamlet tarries in the forefront as the king and queen canoodle in back and guards race by mid-stage between them, fresh from sighting the former king’s ghost.
From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2022
Mansionization foes, meanwhile, complained that out-of-scale homes have continued to be erected as the city tarries on citywide fixes, necessitating more immediate measures to protect neighborhoods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2015
If he, Gephardt or any other potential candidate tarries even past Thursday, he would also be shut out of the important May 5 primary in Ohio.
From Time Magazine Archive
If he wanders too far or tarries too long beyond the state's borders, he had better look back and ask, "What's Thelma up to now?"
From Time Magazine Archive
“Yes,” said Sister McCandless, “that sure is a praying man. I tell you, it ain’t every shepherd tarries before the Lord for his flock like Father James does.”
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
I may want a toy tarrier for a present, or a few rats, or a score or two of sparrers, or—eh, Harry?—to see the lady go through the dove performance.
From A Little World by Fenn, George Manville
He's th' best tarrier fur rats as tha ivver seed.
From That Lass O' Lowrie's 1877 by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Thar iz one thing certain, if i ever do own a Nufoundland, or rat tarrier, they hav got tew be thorobred.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Shaw, Henry W.
Every branch, every flower, became a hand of the sun's clock for the impatient tarrier, while its seconds and minutes moved haltingly forward.
From Withered Leaves. Vol. I. (of III) A Novel by Gottschall, Rudolf von
He's th' best tarrier for owt as tha ivver seed.
From That Lass O' Lowrie's 1877 by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
And thou, Lexiphanes, comest thou, or tarriest here?'
From Works of Lucian of Samosata — Volume 02 by Fowler, F. G. (Francis George)
There is danger alike for my father and thee, if thou tarriest longer.
From The Vale of Cedars by Aguilar, Grace
Art I wait for thee at the outer gate, My love, mine only; Wherefore tarriest thou so late While I am lonely.
From The Man from Snowy River by Paterson, A. B. (Andrew Barton)
Peace, who tarriest too long; Peace, with delight in thy train; Come, come back to our prayer!
From Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold by Arnold, Matthew
Those first words 'why tarriest thou' explain the other part.
From Dorothy Page by Hatcher, Eldridge B.
This time, we deliberately tarried for the scores of curious locals and drivers who wanted to know about our bike, our route, our motivation and “Are you still talking?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
However, ocean-faring ships tarried in San Pedro Bay as crews struggled to keep up with the pace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2022
It was indeed the correct train, which Melanie would have missed if she’d tarried even a moment longer.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2022
But while the shah tarried in Egypt and Morocco, an Iranian mob briefly seized the American Embassy in February.
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2019
That night, the Ghost shows me how to climb far higher than the landing where Taryn and I tarried the last time.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
I see the final visitors depart, many tarrying until the last second.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025
My mind went back to midnight prayers and long, hot, sweaty tarrying services.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 13, 2021
The challenge for Churchill residents is to encourage the bears to head to the tundra without tarrying in town.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 13, 2019
The Rev. Everly Thomas is the only spirit who is aware of where and why everyone is stuck, and he has his own reasons for tarrying.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2017
Sor Asunci6n said, as if she had asked a question and I was tarrying in my answer.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
