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 until it becomes an established problem to deal with.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 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
Having no wish to dally, he continued steadily northward.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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
I like most of all the jaunty soul-brother way in which he dallies with his point.
From The Unpopular Review, Number 19 July-December 1918 by Various
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
Two minutes later though, Carreras dallied over a clearing kick to allow Dan to charge down, gather up and take revenge and restore England's advantage at 23-17.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 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
She dallied and sometimes sat under trees, searched for lady’s slippers or white trilliums to pick, and contemplated her attraction to the world of illusions—her craving for existence and entertainment, for clothes, makeup, dances, movies.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
I have been dallying and making a gluten-free french toast with some nice seeds, vanilla, cinnamon and berries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025
Rabbi Matondo then spurned a big chance to double Rangers' lead on the brink of half-time, dallying on the ball and allowing Atkinson to get back and block the shot.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2024
Jones’ denial in 24 hours of Meadows’ emergency motion was the mark of a court unwilling to tolerate any dallying in the search of justice.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 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
“Pass me your quizzes, everyone—and no dallying, please. A stitch in time saves time, you know.”
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
