dawdle


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.
Related to dawdle: dawdle away

daw·dle

 (dôd′l)
v. daw·dled, daw·dling, daw·dles
v.intr.
1. To take more time than necessary: dawdled through breakfast.
2. To move aimlessly or lackadaisically: dawdling on the way to work.
v.tr.
To waste (time) by idling: dawdling the hours away.

[Perhaps alteration of dialectal daddle, to diddle.]

daw′dler n.
daw′dling·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dawdle

(ˈdɔːdəl)
vb
1. (intr) to be slow or lag behind
2. (when: tr, often foll by away) to waste (time); trifle
[C17: of uncertain origin]
ˈdawdler n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

daw•dle

(ˈdɔd l)

v. -dled, -dling. v.i.
1. to waste time; idle; trifle; loiter.
2. to saunter.
v.t.
3. to waste (time) by or as if by trifling (usu. fol. by away): We dawdled away the whole morning.
[1650–60; variant of daddle to toddle]
daw′dler, n.
syn: See loiter.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

dawdle


Past participle: dawdled
Gerund: dawdling

Imperative
dawdle
dawdle
Present
I dawdle
you dawdle
he/she/it dawdles
we dawdle
you dawdle
they dawdle
Preterite
I dawdled
you dawdled
he/she/it dawdled
we dawdled
you dawdled
they dawdled
Present Continuous
I am dawdling
you are dawdling
he/she/it is dawdling
we are dawdling
you are dawdling
they are dawdling
Present Perfect
I have dawdled
you have dawdled
he/she/it has dawdled
we have dawdled
you have dawdled
they have dawdled
Past Continuous
I was dawdling
you were dawdling
he/she/it was dawdling
we were dawdling
you were dawdling
they were dawdling
Past Perfect
I had dawdled
you had dawdled
he/she/it had dawdled
we had dawdled
you had dawdled
they had dawdled
Future
I will dawdle
you will dawdle
he/she/it will dawdle
we will dawdle
you will dawdle
they will dawdle
Future Perfect
I will have dawdled
you will have dawdled
he/she/it will have dawdled
we will have dawdled
you will have dawdled
they will have dawdled
Future Continuous
I will be dawdling
you will be dawdling
he/she/it will be dawdling
we will be dawdling
you will be dawdling
they will be dawdling
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been dawdling
you have been dawdling
he/she/it has been dawdling
we have been dawdling
you have been dawdling
they have been dawdling
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been dawdling
you will have been dawdling
he/she/it will have been dawdling
we will have been dawdling
you will have been dawdling
they will have been dawdling
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been dawdling
you had been dawdling
he/she/it had been dawdling
we had been dawdling
you had been dawdling
they had been dawdling
Conditional
I would dawdle
you would dawdle
he/she/it would dawdle
we would dawdle
you would dawdle
they would dawdle
Past Conditional
I would have dawdled
you would have dawdled
he/she/it would have dawdled
we would have dawdled
you would have dawdled
they would have dawdled
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.dawdle - take one's time; proceed slowly
move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"
2.dawdle - waste time; "Get busy--don't dally!"
behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"
3.dawdle - hang (back) or fall (behind) in movement, progress, development, etc.
follow - to travel behind, go after, come after; "The ducklings followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow the guide through the museum"
drop behind, get behind, hang back, trail, drop back, drag - to lag or linger behind; "But in so many other areas we still are dragging"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

dawdle

verb
1. waste time, potter, trail, lag, idle, loaf, hang about, dally, loiter, dilly-dally (informal), drag your feet or heels They dawdled arm in arm past the shopfronts.
waste time fly, rush, hurry, hasten, scoot, lose no time, get a move on (informal), step on it (informal), make haste
2. linger, idle, dally, take your time, procrastinate, drag your feet or heels I dawdled over a beer.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

dawdle

verb
1. To go or move slowly so that progress is hindered:
2. To pass (time) without working or in avoiding work.Also used with away:
fiddle away, idle (away), kill, trifle away, waste, while (away), wile (away).
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَتَلَكَّأ، يَتَسَكَّع، يَتَباطَأ
lelkovatloudat se
daskesmøle
slóra, hangsa
gaišlysgaišuotilaiko gaišinimas
slaistīties

dawdle

[ˈdɔːdl]
A. VI (in walking) → andar muy despacio; (over food, work) → entretenerse, demorarse
B. VT to dawdle awaymalgastar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dawdle

[ˈdɔːdəl] vitraîner, lambiner
to dawdle over sth
I dawdled over a beer → J'ai bu ma bière en traînassant.
to dawdle over one's work → traînasser sur son travail, lambiner sur son travail
to dawdle over doing sth → traîner pour faire qch
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

dawdle

vi (= be too slow)trödeln; (= stroll)bummeln; to dawdle on the wayunterwegs trödeln; to dawdle over one’s workbei der Arbeit bummeln or trödeln
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dawdle

[ˈdɔːdl] vi (in walking) → ciondolare, bighellonare
to dawdle over one's work → gingillarsi con il lavoro
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

dawdle

(ˈdoːdl) verb
to waste time especially by moving slowly. Hurry up, and don't dawdle!
ˈdawdler noun
ˈdawdling noun
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
The next day, however, she began to dawdle over her work, and the third day she was more idle still; then she began to lie in bed in the mornings and refused to get up.
The vacation is nearly over, the stints are all done, and we are ever so glad that we didn't dawdle."
"I hope I shall have done something to be proud of by that time, but I'm such a lazy dog, I'm afraid I shall dawdle, Jo."
When I like to dawdle longest over my dinner is when I have a heavy evening's work before me.
Dawdle around the Jewish Quarter looking through fancy gates at the internal patios.
A SPRING Fun Run and Doggie Dawdle is taking place in Thringstone on Sunday, April 7.
If you tend to dawdle over your cuppa only for it to go cold, the Ember Ceramic Mug might be for you.
If the owners of readymade garment factories dawdle to cooperate in this regard, the entire RMG sector might witness anarchy, the leaders expressed their fear.
Antonio Conte pretty much went into meltdown when Barkley appeared to dawdle before replacing Willian during Wednesday's League Cup defeat at the Emirates.
How long will it take for small boys to realise that if they so much as look as if they are about to step into the road a driverless car will always stop, and if they dawdle about in the road the driverless car will slowly follow until they decide to get out of the way?
The courts can now hit state bodies with a $1,000 fine for every day they dawdle in handing over material in Freedom of Information Act cases.
Oh I do like to beside the seaside (written in King Edward's Bay, Tynemouth) All alone I dawdle by the lapping sea, As drizzle-dusk thickens the liquid day, And silent night droops over the high crags, Smoothing-soothing their harsh outlines.