MEANING
1. To spend time idly or playfully rather than proceed with a task.
2. To treat something lightly, or engage in casual flirtation.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- dally over breakfast
- dally on the way
On the page
They dallied over breakfast while the departure hour passed.
She would not dally on the way back.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- dally
- Past tense
- dallied
- Past participle
- dallied
- Present participle
- dallying
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- dally
- Present continuous
- am/is/are dallying
- Present perfect
- have/has dallied
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been dallying
- Past
- dallied
- Past continuous
- was/were dallying
- Past perfect
- had dallied
- Past perfect continuous
- had been dallying
- Future
- will dally
- Future continuous
- will be dallying
- Future perfect
- will have dallied
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been dallying
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: dally; dallies; dallied; dallied; dallying Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: dallies.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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