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Definition of "dawdle" [daw•dle]

  • To take more time than necessary: dawdled through breakfast. (verb-intransitive)
  • To move aimlessly or lackadaisically: dawdling on the way to work. (verb-intransitive)
  • To waste (time) by idling: dawdling the hours away. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "dawdle" in a sentence
  • "Recently, I made a little journal to try out what I thought would be the "dawdle" of bookbinding in danish: "bogbinderi" and have started filling it in."
  • "The British had their own word "dawdle" which means wasting time or being lazy."
  • "I pictured Liza practicing every possible pose a heroine could adopt in the romantic window seat, but there was no time for me to “dawdle” and try it out."