Dally

Pronunciation: /ˈdæli/

Definitions of dally

verb to waste time, to dawdle, to linger, to spend time aimlessly or frivolously

Example Sentences

A1 I like to dally at the park with my friends.

A2 She tends to dally when it comes to making decisions.

B1 Don't dally around, we need to finish this project on time.

B2 He was known to dally with different hobbies before finding his true passion.

C1 The CEO warned the employees not to dally with the company's resources.

C2 Despite his busy schedule, he always finds time to dally with his favorite pastime.

Examples of dally in a Sentence

formal It is not wise to dally when making important decisions.

informal Stop dallying and get to work!

slang Quit dallying around and let's go already!

figurative She liked to dally with the idea of moving to a new city, but never actually did it.

Grammatical Forms of dally

• past tense: dallied
• plural: dallies
• comparative: more dally
• superlative: most dally
• present tense: dally
• future tense: will dally
• perfect tense: have dallied
• continuous tense: is dallying
• singular: dally
• positive degree: dally
• infinitive: to dally
• gerund: dallying
• participle: dallying

Origin and Evolution of dally

First Known Use: 1300 year

Language of Origin: Middle English

Story behind the word: The word 'dally' originated from Middle English 'dalien' which comes from Old French 'dalier' meaning to play or waste time.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'dally' has evolved to also mean to act or move slowly, or to show a lack of seriousness in a romantic or sexual relationship.