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dawdle

[ dawd-l ]
/ ˈdɔd l /
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See synonyms for: dawdle / dawdled / dawdles / dawdling on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), daw·dled, daw·dling.
to waste time; idle; trifle; loiter: Stop dawdling and help me with these packages!
to move slowly, languidly, or dilatorily; saunter.
verb (used with object), daw·dled, daw·dling.
to waste (time) by or as if by trifling (usually followed by away): He dawdled away the whole morning.
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Origin of dawdle

First recorded in 1650–60; variant of daddle “to toddle”

synonym study for dawdle

1, 2. See loiter.

OTHER WORDS FROM dawdle

dawdler, noundaw·dling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to dawdle

laze, loiter, mosey, procrastinate, saunter, amble, dally, dilly-dally, drag, idle, lag, loaf, loll, lounge, poke, stay, stroll, tarry, toddle, trifle

How to use dawdle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dawdle

dawdle
/ (ˈdɔːdəl) /
verb
(intr) to be slow or lag behind
(when tr, often foll by away) to waste (time); trifle

Derived forms of dawdle

dawdler, noundawdlingly, adverb

Word Origin for dawdle

C17: of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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