dally
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
to waste time idly; dawdle
-
(usually foll by with) to deal frivolously or lightly with; trifle; toy
to dally with someone's affections
Synonym Usage
See loiter.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dallysimple
-
dalliessimple
-
have dalliedperfect
-
has dalliedperfect
-
am dallyingprogressive
-
are dallyingprogressive
-
is dallyingprogressive
-
have been dallyingperfect progressive
-
has been dallyingperfect progressive
Past
-
dalliedsimple
-
had dalliedperfect
-
was dallyingprogressive
-
were dallyingprogressive
-
had been dallyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dally
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English dalien from Anglo-French dalier “to chat,” of uncertain origin
Explanation
Dally means “to waste time.” When you dally, you will cause a delay because of your dawdling. You have probably heard the expression "to dilly-dally" — which means “to dawdle.” Well, if you take the dilly out of dilly-dally to get just dally — you still have pretty much the same meaning. Dally has other common definitions, such as “to flirt” (especially without care of the result) or “to play.” The light tone is probably an echo of its origin, which is likely the French word dalier, meaning “to amuse oneself.”
Vocabulary lists containing dally
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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King Lear
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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
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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:
He did not dally, perhaps mindful of what had happened the night before.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
If you dally as the clock approaches 2 p.m. on Sunday, you will see that Jerson Osorio’s team can unbuild a city as fast as they can build one.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024
Don’t dally — food is only out for one hour.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
To Williams, the comment was an acknowledgment of how quickly the 49ers’ pass rush was getting pressure, and Wentz didn’t want Williams to dally while reading the defense.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2022
But his colleague from Georgia need not dally over the credentials of these pathetic eccentrics.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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
Keith Poulson’s Chris, an insecure former child actor cast as Nick’s counterpart in the play, dallies with both Mona and Esther Garrel’s Thérèse — who plays the Mona figure and seeks out Nick for research.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2018
He dallies, and then tries a pass that doesn’t come off.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 18, 2016
Both leave us intervals of rest; and in the intervals life goes on perfectly well without them, though the imagination still dallies with their possibility.
From Memories and Studies by James, Henry
Rennes midfielder Quentin Merlin dallied deep in his own area and was ambushed by Timothy Weah who passed to Amine Gouiri.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
It, along with its sibling, had stood empty for nearly 25 years, as local, county and Navy authorities dallied on what to do with them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
After the fourth try, scored by Etzebeth, made it 26-25, Dupont dallied on the ball and got knocked back as South Africa won a penalty and went further ahead.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
Ibrahimovic then had a golden opportunity in the 89th minute but dallied and his wayward shot was blocked.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2022
“Well, I’ve dallied enough. I must attend to my mother.”
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
At Ojai, Lewis wistfully performed the solo prelude off in Libbey Park shrubbery as if a dallying forest spirit summoning ghosts of festivals past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
Arsenal went into half-time with 15 attempts at goal, of which only three were on target, and the second half started with Odegaard dallying on another chance.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2023
In doing so, McAfee showed he’s not one for dallying, setting the trial 11 days before the Nov. 3 deadline.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2023
Klopp empowers his players to think for themselves: the iconic winning goal against Barcelona in last year’s Champions League semifinal came from the squad’s observation that its opponent was dallying during set pieces.
From New York Times ● Jun. 26, 2020
“Sometimes you have to live down to people’s expectations, Kate. If you can do that, you'll get much further in life. Now quit dallying and get inside before they come back.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
