dawdle
verb (used without object)
to waste time; idle; trifle; loiter.
were dawdling
-
past progressiveof dawdle.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
In Army posts all over Oahu, soldiers were dawdling into a typical idle Sunday.
From Time Magazine Archive
Two young Frenchwomen, who were dawdling along behind the party, heard the roar of the oncoming flood and managed to scramble up the rock wall to a ledge 12 feet above the ground.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the library of an imposing, but new, grey stone mansion on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive two women were dawdling together over Petrarch's "Canzoniere" in the original.
From With Edge Tools by H. C. (Hobart Chatfield) Chatfield-Taylor
The young couple were dawdling over a late breakfast after a night at an ultra smart party.
From Best Short Stories by Thomas L. Masson
In the afternoon Lawrence and Severance were dawdling over coffee in the Piazza.
From Literary Love-Letters and Other Stories by Robert Herrick
