verb
dawdle
DAW-duhl/ˈdɔːdl/
To waste time by moving or acting too slowly.
The woman dawdles with her scarf, leaving her coat half on.
Etymology
Dawdle is recorded with the meaning “idle, waste time.” It may be a variant of daddle, “walk unsteadily,” perhaps influenced by daw, a bird regarded as sluggish and silly.
In context
Dawdle over meals as long as you wanted to. Leave your crusts if you wanted to.
More examples
- Don't dawdle over breakfast or you'll miss the bus.
- We dawdled on the way home and arrived late.
- Stop dawdling and put your shoes on.
Forms
dawdle · dawdles · dawdled · dawdling
dawdler noun — Someone who wastes time by acting slowly.