1
as in to play
to engage in activity for amusement
he spent his college years dallying, seemingly determined to acquire as little knowledge as possible
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2
as in to linger
to move or act slowly
don't dally on the way to the interview
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3
as in to flirt
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
she spent the summer dallying with a guy renting the neighboring beach house
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4
as in to lazy
to spend time doing nothing
I kept dallying at my desk until I couldn't put off doing my work any longer
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dally
While deleterious when recurring over the course of a lifetime, dilly-dallying can kill even quicker on a basketball court.
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Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 Feb. 2025
Arsenal need only look at title rivals Liverpool to see the dangers of dallying.
—James McNicholas, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
The Dodgers were dallying in Scott's trade market ahead of the 2024 trade deadline before he was sent to the San Diego Padres along with reliever Bryan Hoeing for four minor league players.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 9 Feb. 2025
There is a decision to be made — and after two years of dilly-dallying, it can’t be delayed any longer.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dally
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dally
Verb
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Peat fit in well with Arizona’s veteran lineup, as the freshman didn’t force the issue and played within the offense.—
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Guys were playing hard, everybody on that drive was doing their job, and getting guys down on the ground.—
Verb
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Ultimately, however, the lingering impact of being dragged last summer is known only to the officer – who is said to be experienced, with more than 10 years of service as an ICE deportation officer, according to DHS.—
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Early next week, a brief warmup returns highs to the 30s before cooler air likely lingers deeper into mid-January.—
Verb
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During one table read, Telfer orchestrated a plan to have Cusack sit beside him and share a script, flirting throughout the night.—
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Following a 9-4 season and Alamo Bowl appearance, Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders briefly flirted with potentially coaching the Dallas Cowboys during the offseason.—
Verb
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If Takaichi cannot enact the budget by the end of March, her government would have to compile a stop-gap budget, which could delay execution of spending measures.—
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For people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, delaying or not getting care could be fatal.—
Verb
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Flight attendants turned into drill sergeants, barking at passengers who flouted mask rules or dawdled too long eating that snack with the mask off.—
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My request to ownership is don’t dawdle.—
Verb
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His arm was pinned into the back window of a car as a suspect sped away, dragging him across the pavement for about 100 yards, according to court documents.—
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At least one woman was dragged along the pavement as officers appeared to prepare additional crowd-control devices.—
Verb
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Later, the women were in a idling vehicle when Brown allegedly left his Jeep, walked toward them and fired at the car, court records show.—
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David McNew / Getty Images Marquez helped convert Pasadena's fire fleet to renewable diesel fuel so that his crews wouldn't keep breathing in the emissions from idling trucks.—
Verb
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Now, Letts has brought Coon back to Broadway with the Main Stem debut of his 1996 play Bug, a skin-crawling portrayal of people on the fringes.—
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One team member crawled inside and fired paintballs filled with vegetable oil, wildlife organization BEAR League told Fox News Digital on Thursday.—
Cite this Entry
“Dally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dally. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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