Meaning & use
dawdling
Last updated
“dawdling” is a form of “dawdle”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Moving or acting slowly and without purpose, so that you take much longer than necessary.
Grammar: No object; the -ing form 'dawdling' is used in continuous tenses ('she is dawdling') or as a noun-like subject ('dawdling made us late').
Patterns
- dawdle along
- dawdle over something
- dawdle on the way
Stop dawdling and finish your breakfast.
The children were dawdling along the path, looking at every flower.
He is always dawdling over his coffee when we need to leave.
adjectivebefore a noun
Spending time slowly and idly, or showing that someone is doing this.
Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'a dawdling child'; it describes the person or the activity, not a thing.
Patterns
- a dawdling child
- dawdling walkers
A dawdling customer held up the whole line.
We were the last dawdling walkers on the beach.
Word forms
| third person singular | dawdles |
|---|---|
| past tense | dawdled |
| past participle | dawdled |
| -ing form | dawdling |
Common combinations
- stop dawdling
- Stop dawdling or we will miss the train.
- dawdle over lunch
- They dawdled over lunch for two hours.
- dawdle on the way
- Don't dawdle on the way home.
- dawdle along the street
- He dawdled along the street, in no hurry at all.
Synonyms and how they differ
- linger
- 'Linger' suggests staying somewhere longer than expected, often pleasantly, while 'dawdle' stresses wasted time and slowness.
- loiter
- 'Loiter' means to stand around with no clear purpose and often has a suspicious or official tone; 'dawdle' is more about moving slowly.
- delay
- 'Delay' focuses on being late or making something late, but 'dawdle' describes the slow, aimless behavior itself.
Opposites
Word family
- dawdle verb
- The base verb meaning to move or act slowly.
- dawdler noun
- A person who habitually dawdles.
Commonly confused: dawdling or doodle?
dawdling vs doodle
'Doodle' means to draw little pictures absent-mindedly, while 'dawdle' means to waste time by being slow.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'dawdling' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Dawdling' is intransitive, so it cannot take an object like 'her homework' or 'the box', which rules out An and D. In B the adjective 'dawdling' contradicts arriving on time, so C is the natural use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dawdling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.