dilly-dally
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dil·ly-dal·ly
(dĭl′ē-dăl′ē)intr.v. dil·ly-dal·lied, dil·ly-dal·lying, dil·ly-dal·lies
To waste time, especially in indecision; dawdle or vacillate.
[Reduplication of dally.]
dil′ly-dal′li·er n.
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.
dilly-dally
(ˌdɪlɪˈdælɪ)vb, -lies, -lying or -lied
(intr) informal to loiter or vacillate
[C17: by reduplication from dally]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
dilly-dally
Past participle: dilly-dallied
Gerund: dilly-dallying
Imperative |
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dilly-dally |
dilly-dally |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Verb | 1. | dilly-dally - postpone doing what one should be doing; "He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days" delay - act later than planned, scheduled, or required; "Don't delay your application to graduate school or else it won't be considered" procrastinate - postpone or delay needlessly; "He procrastinated the matter until it was almost too late" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
dilly-dally
verbTo go or move slowly so that progress is hindered:
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
dilly-dally
[ˈdɪlɪdælɪ] VI1. (= loiter) → entretenerse, demorarse
2. (= hesitate) → andarse con titubeos
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
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
dilly-dally
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
dilly-dally
(diliˈdӕli) verb to waste time especially by stopping often. She's always dilly-dallying on the way to school.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.