dilly-dally
verb/ˈdɪli dæli/
/ˈdɪli dæli/
[intransitive] (old-fashioned, informal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they dilly-dally | /ˈdɪli dæli/ /ˈdɪli dæli/ |
| he / she / it dilly-dallies | /ˈdɪli dæliz/ /ˈdɪli dæliz/ |
| past simple dilly-dallied | /ˈdɪli dælid/ /ˈdɪli dælid/ |
| past participle dilly-dallied | /ˈdɪli dælid/ /ˈdɪli dælid/ |
| -ing form dilly-dallying | /ˈdɪli dæliɪŋ/ /ˈdɪli dæliɪŋ/ |
- to take too long to do something, go somewhere or make a decision synonym dawdle
- Don’t dilly-dally on the way home from school.
More Like This Reduplicative wordsReduplicative wordsWord Originearly 17th cent.: reduplication of dally.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
dilly-dally