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Added 4 October 2026

dawdle

/ˈdɔːdl̩/ verb

In Latin: cūnctor Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about dawdle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
to dawdle away the whole morning
To spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time.
If you dawdle on your daily walk, you won’t get as much exercise.
To spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time.

noun

An act of spending time idly and unfruitfully; a dawdling.
An act of moving or walking lackadaisically, a dawdling; a leisurely or slow walk or other journey.
Synonym of dawdler (“a person who dawdles or idles”).

noun

Alternative spelling of doddle (“a job, task, or other activity that is easy to complete or simple”).

Origin

The verb is possibly: * a variant of daddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk or work slowly, dawdle, saunter, trifle”) or doddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk feebly or slowly, dawdle, idle, saunter, stroll”), possibly influenced by daw (“(Britain, dialectal) lazy, good-for-nothing person, sluggard”); or * borrowed from Middle Low German dȫdelen (“to dawdle”), related to Saterland Frisian döädelje (“to dawdle”); compare also German daddeln (“to play”), German verdaddeln (“to waste (time), neglect, ruin”). All of these words are assumed to be of imitative origin. The noun is derived from the verb.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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