verb
Freq #56862
Meanings
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1
verb
informal: to waste time through indecision, delay, or aimless activity
We cannot dilly-dally if we want to catch the last train.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A playful reduplication of dally, 'to waste time or linger.' The alternating vowels give the verb an imitative, dismissive rhythm similar to shilly-shally.