ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Dawdle

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈdɔːdl̩/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Dawdle is a verb meaning (transitive) Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose.

Meaning

(transitive) Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose.

More Meanings

  1. To spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time.
  2. To move or walk lackadaisically.
  3. An act of spending time idly and unfruitfully; a dawdling.
  4. An act of moving or walking lackadaisically, a dawdling; a leisurely or slow walk or other journey.
  5. Synonym of dawdler (“a person who dawdles or idles”).
  6. Alternative spelling of doddle (“a job, task, or other activity that is easy to complete or simple”).

Example Sentences

to dawdle away the whole morning
However all [Wayne] Hennessey's good work went to waste on 52 minutes when he dawdled on the ball.
Tell him, if he'll call on me, and davvdle over a diſh of tea in an afternoon, I ſhall take it kind.
You all know when you learn with a will, and when you dawdle. There's no doubt of conscience about that, I suppose?

Word Forms

Synonyms for dawdle

Depending on context, synonyms include dally, dilly-dally, bludge, cabbage, diddle, dretch.

Antonyms for dawdle

Common opposites include rush, race, hie, speed, hotfoot, hasten.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include lag, linger, fall back, dilly-dally, loll, idle.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.