tarry
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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tarries,
present (3rd person singular)
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tarried,
past participle, past
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tarrying
present participle
verb (used with object)
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tarries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tarried,
past participle, past
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tarrying
present participle
noun
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tarries
plural
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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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
The ticking watch urged him not to tarry.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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
He tarries awhile in this hovel of Muscovite anguish to bring light into the souls of the people, and by token of a dusted window, into the room, the main scene of sorrow.
From Time Magazine Archive
She tarries a moment longer, then peels off, and speeding like a falling star, shoots off into a cloud and is gone.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
He's th' best tarrier for owt as tha ivver seed.
From That Lass O' Lowrie's 1877 by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I never hav had the happiness yet to own a rat tarrier even, in fakt i hav allus been poor, and haven’t been beforehanded enuff yet tew own a dog.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw
The rat tarrier iz not so mutch dog, az a personal matter, az the Nufoundland iz, but he haz more grit to the square inch.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw
A person who could appreciate the virtues of "th' best tarrier i' Riggan," could not be regarded wholly with contempt, or even indifference.
From That Lass O' Lowrie's 1877 by Frances Hodgson Burnett
"Now, then, you young tarrier, make yer manners an' tell yer lies to yer betthers!" said the big sergeant, half grinning as he spoke, his hand on Shorty's collar all the time.
From From School to Battle-field A Story of the War Days by Charles King
Come forth, son Jacob, why tarriest thou behind?
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 2 by William Carew Hazlitt
Then said the portress to the cateress, 'O my Sister, why tarriest thou?
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume I by John Payne
Thy father-in-law's countenance is not toward thee as beforetime, and yet thou tarriest with him?
From The Legends of the Jews — Volume 1 by Henrietta Szold
Then St. Paul said to St. Peter when he saw him fly so high: Peter, why tarriest thou? perform that thou hast begun, God now calleth us.
From Bible Stories and Religious Classics by Philip P. Wells
I showed as brown a chest, and as hard a hand, as the tarriest tar of them all.
From Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I by Herman Melville
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
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
After the reporters’ questions dwindled, he tarried in the hallway, leaning against a column, signing autographs on visitors’ entry cards like a Broadway star, patiently enjoying it.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2019
Even if he had tarried on the mountaintop, and even allowing for his modest walking speed, he should have reached here by now.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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
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