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.

dawdling

(ˈdɔːdəlɪŋ)

adj

proceeding at a slow pace

an act of going very slowly and wasting time

ˈdawdlingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

dawdling - the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working

dalliance, trifling

delay, holdup - the act of delaying; inactivity resulting in something being put off until a later time

Translations

تَسَكُّع، تَباطُؤ

lelkováníloudání

daskensmølen

slór, hangs

zaháľanie

ağırdan alma

懒散闲逛

dawdling

[ˈdɔːdlɪŋ]

A. ADJ (= lagging behind) → rezagado

B. N → pérdida f de tiempo

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

dawdling

adj we were stuck behind a dawdling lorry → wir saßen hinter einem Lastwagen fest, der im Bummeltempo fuhr

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dawdling

[ˈdɔːdlɪŋ]

1. adj (person, crowd) → ozioso/a

2. n no dawdling in the corridors, please → non attardatevi nei corridoi, per favore

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

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Besides, it isn't safe for us to be dawdling about here.

View in context

"I should be most happy," replied he aloud, and jumping up with alacrity, "it would give me the greatest pleasure; but that I am this moment going to dance." Come, Fanny, taking her hand, "do not be dawdling any longer, or the dance will be over."

View in context

The Musgroves could hardly be more ready to invite than he to come, particularly in the morning, when he had no companion at home, for the Admiral and Mrs Croft were generally out of doors together, interesting themselves in their new possessions, their grass, and their sheep, and dawdling about in a way not endurable to a third person, or driving out in a gig, lately added to their establishment.

View in context

Philip saw several fellows with a desultory, timid look dawdling around, and surmised that, like himself, they were there for the first time.

View in context

The other was dawdling with the bottle, and Martin refused to wait for him, tossing the glass off in a gulp and refilling it.

View in context

But our aunt thought best to remove her because she complained, and she has been dawdling about ever since she came.

View in context

THE Government is being accused of "dawdling" over taking action to improve the rights of workers employed in the so-called gig economy.

Worker rights efforts aren't good enough, MPs claim

Those dawdling over drinks can be found in Norwich (34 minutes), and Brighton (31 minutes), said the survey for St Austell brewery in Cornwall.

Glasga just pipped for thirst place

Mediumsized purchases, such as clothes or weekends away can see us dawdling for two entire weeks and large, life-changing items like cars and a new home can take 3.6 months or more.

We waste a year of our lives fretting over spending; MONEY FACT

dawdling like the clerk with a pointed nose, the angelfish now blind or

Figures in Motion

But language campaigners said the report adds to "the piles of evidence the Government now has on its desk, while it is dawdling to act".

'City regions' call to halt Welsh decline

Or nuclear engineers, perhaps dawdling as the interminable negotiations over the strike price go on; or even gas-fired power station engineers, experiencing delays to the development of the fracking industry.

Renewables engineers fight back! We are, ahem, sexy