Word of the Week

Word of the Week~DillyDally

dillydally

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Definition of dillydally

intransitive verb: to waste time by loitering or delaying: re about dillydally

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Synonyms & Antonyms for dillydally

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Examples of dillydally in a Sentence

don’t dillydally on the way to the store restaurant employees who, during the slow periods, would rather be doing something instead of just dillydallying Recent Examples on the Web Bathroom breaks and other excuses for dillydallying give your heart rate a chance to return to normal. — Elizabeth Narins, Cosmopolitan, “18 Ways to Maximize Your Workout and Lose Weight Faster,” 22 May 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘dillydally.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of dillydally

1741, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for dillydally

reduplication of dally

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Time Traveler for dillydallyTime Traveler

The first known use of dillydally was in 1741

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From the Editors at Merriam-WebsterThe Joy of Reduplicative Rhyming Words The Joy of Reduplicative Rhyming WordsHocus-pocus, artsy-fartsy, and more fun-to-say compounds

Dictionary Entries near dillydally

dilly

dilly bag

dillydallier

dillydally

dillyman

dilo

dilseSee More Nearby Entries 

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Cite this Entry

“Dillydally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dillydally. Accessed 6 Aug. 2020. MLA Chicago APA Merriam-WebsterStyle: MLA

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More Definitions for dillydally

dillydallyverbHow to pronounce dillydally (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of dillydally

informal : to move or act too slowly : to waste time

See the full definition for dillydally in the English Language Learners Dictionary

dillydallyverbdil·​ly·​dal·​ly | ˈdi-lē-ˌda-lē How to pronounce dillydally (audio) dillydallied; dillydallying

Kids Definition of dillydally

: to waste time : dawdle Don’t dillydally in your work.

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More from Merriam-Webster on dillydally

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dillydally

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with dillydally

Spanish Central: Translation of dilly

Word of the Week

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mondegreen

mon-di-green ]


noun

a word or phrase resulting from a mishearing of another word or phrase, especially in a song or poem.

ORIGIN OF MONDEGREEN

1954; coined by Sylvia Wright, U.S. writer, from the line laid him on the green, interpreted as Lady Mondegreen, in a Scottish ballad

DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED BASED ON THE RANDOM HOUSE UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, © RANDOM HOUSE, INC. 2020

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Word of the Week

gest

play

noun JEST


Definition

1 : a tale of adventures; especially : a romance in verse

2 : adventure, exploit

Did You Know?

“Let the Queen know of our gests,” Antony instructs his men after a hard-won victory on the battlefield in William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Great deeds and heroic acts have been the stuff of gests since medieval days; in fact, the word is more often associated with knights and heroes of old than with modern adventurers. We may not be hearing about many 21st century gests, but we do frequently encounter other relatives of the word. Gest traces to Latin gestus, the past participle of the verb gerere, which means “to wage,” “to bear,” or “to carry,” among other things. That Latin verb gave us stoutly enduring words like gestureingestjestregister, and suggest.

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Examples

“The best authentic source of Robin Hood stories is the late medieval poem A Gest of Robyn Hode…, a compilation of traditional ballads and stories.” — Guy McDonald, England, 2003

“I was looking forward to this film [Onward] for the last month. My mom follows ‘new’ movie trailers and called me as soon as she saw this one. The gest was essentially an adventure about two brothers.” — Andrew McManus, The Portsmouth (Ohio) Daily Times, 11 Mar. 2020


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Word of the Week, In Three Different Languages

SPANISH-

bucear

to scuba dive

EXAMPLES

  1. Mi esposo y yo estábamos buceando en Maui cuando vimos una mantarraya gigante pasar justo al lado de nosotros.My husband and I were scuba diving in Maui when we saw a huge manta ray pass right beside us.
  2. Vamos a bucear con tiburones en Cancún en las próximas vacaciones.We are going to scuba dive with sharks in Cancun on our next vacation.

ENGLISH-

scuba-dive

[ˈsko͞obəˌdīv]VERBscuba-dive (verb) · scuba-dives (third person present) · scuba-dived (past tense) · scuba-dived (past participle) · scuba-diving (present participle)swim underwater using scuba-diving equipment.

“visitors can learn to scuba-dive in the Marine Reserve”

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GERMAN-

scuba diving  noun

Gerätetauchen nt

less common:Scubatauchennt · Sporttauchennt“scuba-diving” could be Present Participle

scuba-dive  verb (scuba-divedscuba-dived)

tauchen v (mit Gerät)

Word Of The Week

eftsoons

Also found in: Wikipedia.Related to eftsoons: Descension, Wheen

eft·soons

  (ĕft-so͞onz′)adv.Archaic1. Soon afterward; presently.2. Once again.


[From Middle English eftsone, from Old English eftsōna: eft, again; see apo- in Indo-European roots + sōna, soon.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

eftsoons

 (ɛftˈsuːnz)adv1. soon afterwards

2. repeatedly[Old English eft sōna, literally: afterwards soon]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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