tarry

[ tar-ee ]

See synonyms for: tarry tarrier tarrying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),tar·ried, tar·ry·ing.

to remain or stay, as in a place; sojourn: He tarried in Baltimore on his way to Washington.
to delay or be tardy in acting, starting, coming, etc.; linger or loiter.

to wait.

verb (used with object),tar·ried, tar·ry·ing.

Archaic. to wait for.

noun,plural tar·ries.

a stay; sojourn.

Origin of tarry

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English taryen “to delay,” tary “a delay”; origin unknown

synonym study For tarry

3. See wait.

Other words for tarry

1	rest, lodge, stop, abide

See synonyms for tarry on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for tarry

leave

See antonyms for tarry on Thesaurus.com

Other words from tarry

tar·ri·er, noun
un·tar·ried, adjective
un·tar·ry·ing, adjective

Other definitions for tarry (2 of 2)

tarry²

[ tahr-ee ]

adjective,tar·ri·er, tar·ri·est.

of or like tar; smeared with tar.

Origin of tarry

First recorded in 1545–55; tar¹ + -y¹

Other words from tarry

tar·ri·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tarry in a sentence

After decades of extraction, pumping California’s increasingly tarry reserves became tougher.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them. | by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica | September 18, 2020 | ProPublica
Norman tarried to put his books into a neat leather case, and Ethel stood thinking.
The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
But Brindle tarried behind and foraged for her supper by nibbling the grass from the overgrown dooryard.
Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
But the chance of death was a certain one if he tarried where he was until others came to support his present opponents.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
Meanwhile the holy women and the gardener tarried about the bleeding corse.
The Merrie Tales Of Jacques Tournebroche | Anatole France

There tarried Olaf long and it fared well with him, and always was he mightily beloved by the churl.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade) | Snorri Sturluson

British Dictionary definitions for tarry

tarry

/ (ˈtærɪ) /

verb-ries, -rying or -ried

(intr) to delay in coming or going; linger
(intr) to remain temporarily or briefly

(intr) to wait or stay
(tr) archaic, or poetic to await

nounplural -ries

rare a stay

Origin of tarry

C14 tarien, of uncertain origin

Derived forms of tarry

tarrier, noun

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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