CEFR C1

dawdling

verb

Meaning

To waste time by moving or acting slowly, often when you should be hurrying.

Examples

Stop dawdling and get your shoes on.
He dawdled on his way home from school, stopping to look at everything.

Synonyms: linger, loiter, procrastinate, shilly-shally

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dawdling (C1)

verb

Pronunciation: /ˈdɔːdl/

Definition

To waste time by moving or acting slowly, often when you should be hurrying.

Examples

Stop dawdling and get your shoes on.
He dawdled on his way home from school, stopping to look at everything.
We can't afford to dawdle if we want to finish this project on time.

How to Use dawdling

dawdle on (prepositional phrase): To spend time idly while moving along a path or route. — "Don't dawdle on your way to school."
dawdle about (prepositional phrase): To move around slowly and waste time. — "He spent the afternoon dawdling about the house."
dawdle away (prepositional phrase): To waste time doing something. — "She dawdled away the morning reading magazines."

Synonyms of dawdling

Words with a similar meaning to dawdling:

Antonyms of dawdling

Words with the opposite meaning to dawdling:

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