dawdle

C2+ Topic:Time

US /ˈdɔdl̩/ UK /ˈdɔːdl̩/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to move or act slowly, wasting time

Stop dawdling and finish your breakfast.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move or act slowly,... loiter linger dally tarry lagdillydallyprocrastinate idle

Opposites

hurry hasten rush scurry

Word family

Derived forms dawdlerdawdling

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, attested from the late 17th century; possibly a variant of dialectal daddle ('to walk unsteadily') or related to dial. dawdle 'idle'. The exact etymology is obscure.

Topics

Time

# dawdle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈdɔdl̩
**IPA (UK):** ˈdɔːdl̩

## Meanings
1. to move or act slowly, wasting time

## Examples
- Stop dawdling and finish your breakfast.

## Synonyms
- loiter
- linger
- dally
- tarry
- lag
- dillydally
- procrastinate
- idle

## Antonyms
- hurry
- hasten
- rush
- scurry

## Derived Forms
- dawdler
- dawdling

## Etymology
Of uncertain origin, attested from the late 17th century; possibly a variant of dialectal daddle ('to walk unsteadily') or related to dial. dawdle 'idle'. The exact etymology is obscure.

## AI Etymology
Dawdle is of uncertain origin, attested from the late 17th century; possibly a variant of dialectal daddle ('to walk unsteadily') or related to dial. dawdle 'idle'. The exact etymology is obscure. In present use as a verb, it means "to move or act slowly, wasting time", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Because the origin is uncertain, the safest account is descriptive: the attested senses can be explained, but the ultimate formation remains unresolved. Derived forms include dawdler and dawdling.

## Topics
- Time

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dawdle

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