tarry
verb (used without object)
to remain or stay, as in a place; sojourn.
were tarrying
-
past progressiveof tarry.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.
He felt that they were tarrying too long in this dreary place; and he wished to be back among his fellows in old AEgir's hall.
From The Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin
The younger man gave place; and both passing in with a familiar air, which seemed to denote that they were tarrying there, or were well-accustomed to go to and fro unquestioned, shut it behind them.
From Barnaby Rudge: a tale of the Riots of 'eighty by Charles Dickens
Later Severus withdrew to Moesia because the Dacians and the Sauromatæ were ravaging it, and while Tiberius and Messalinus were tarrying in Siscia the Dalmatians overran their allied territory and likewise caused many to revolt.
From Dio's Rome, Volume 4 An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form by Herbert Baldwin Foster
They were tarrying a moment to arrange this wrapping when they found it necessary to move aside from where they stood in order to let two persons pass on the sidewalk.
From Dr. Sevier by George Washington Cable
And here, according to the Christians, the departed patriarchs and saints were tarrying expectant of Christ's arrival to ransom them.
From The Destiny of the Soul A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life by William Rounseville Alger
