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
-
(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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To Kill a Mockingbird
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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
But thick mats of tarry petroleum asphalt cover portions of sandbars, oil-speckled rocks and bushes line the shore and the wreckage of a tank car juts from the middle of the river.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
She looked up at the sky and I saw her eyes were a solid, tarry black.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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 wanders too far or tarries too long beyond the state's borders, he had better look back and ask, "What's Thelma up to now?"
From Time Magazine Archive
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
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
What do you say to as nice a toy tarrier as was ever give to a lady?”
From A Little World by George Manville Fenn
He's th' best tarrier fur rats as tha ivver seed.
From That Lass O' Lowrie's 1877 by Frances Hodgson Burnett
He resembles the rat tarrier in countenance, and skratches hiz hed, az natral az a distrikt skool boy, and undoubtedly for the same reason.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw
I may want a toy tarrier for a present, or a few rats, or a score or two of sparrers, or—eh, Harry?—to see the lady go through the dove performance.
From A Little World by George Manville Fenn
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
Peace, who tarriest too long; Peace, with delight in thy train; Come, come back to our prayer!
From Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold by Matthew Arnold
But this it is that doth displease me: So oft thou tarriest at the tavern, While I am tethered at the door.
From An Anthology of Jugoslav Poetry; Serbian Lyrics by Various
Why tarriest thou to plunge thee in the gulph Of the deep inner gloom, but flittest here, In twilight, on the lonely verge of Hell, Far from the other ghosts, and Hela's throne?
From Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold by Matthew Arnold
He went up the path, and stood before the door waiting, when a high thin voice, like an evening wind, called from within, "Come in and fear not, thou that tarriest on the threshold."
From Paul the Minstrel and Other Stories Reprinted from The Hill of Trouble and The Isles of Sunset by Arthur Christopher Benson
Wing thy flight from hence on the morrow, for if thou tarriest with the bats, owls, vultures and ravens, which have thought to nestle here, thou wilt inevitably share their fate.
From Woodstock; or, the Cavalier by Sir Walter Scott
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
It was indeed the correct train, which Melanie would have missed if she’d tarried even a moment longer.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2022
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
While Booth and Herold tarried, the government pursued them with new energy.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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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