What does dawdle mean?
Word: Dawdle
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Dawdle means to walk or do something more slowly than you should, wasting time.
Synonyms: loiter
Antonyms: hurry, hasten, rush
Word origin: Its origin is uncertain; it appeared in English in the 1600s and may come from the dialect word daddle, to walk unsteadily.
How do you spell dawdle?
Syllables: daw - dle
Tricky part: The ending is -dle, as in middle and doodle; students who hear the last sound write dawdel or dawdal.
Watch out for: dawdel, dawdal
Memory tip: Picture a pupil who dawdles because she keeps stopping to doodle: dawdle and doodle end the same way.
Dawdle in a sentence
Example 1: Don't dawdle over your breakfast, or you'll miss the school van.
Example 2: The tourists dawdled through the bazaar, stopping at every bangle stall.
Example 3: If we dawdle at the station, all the window seats will be gone.
Fun Fact
A playful way to say dawdle is to dilly-dally, one of many English pairs made by repeating a word with a changed vowel, like zigzag and ping-pong.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) dawdle : dawdleing
b) giggle : giggling
c) huddle : huddling
d) tickle : tickling
Show answer
a) dawdle : dawdleing. Like giggle, huddle and tickle, dawdle drops its final e before -ing: dawdling.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the sentence?
We were late for the morning assembley because my little brother would daudle at every shop window on the way.
a) 3
b) 2
c) 1
d) 4
Show answer
b) 2. Assembley should be assembly and daudle should be dawdle, with aw as in draw.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with a word of similar meaning:
1. dawdle 2. scold 3. dwindle a. rebuke b. linger c. shrink
a) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
Show answer
b) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. To dawdle is to linger, to scold is to rebuke, and something that dwindles shrinks.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
If you ___ over your homework, you will miss the start of the cricket match on TV.
a) hurtle
b) dawdle
c) scamper
d) stride
Show answer
b) dawdle. To dawdle over a task is to take far too long over it.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What would a teacher most likely say to a pupil who is dawdling?
a) Please speak more loudly.
b) Please pick up the pace.
c) Please sit by the door.
d) Please slow right down.
Show answer
b) Please pick up the pace.
2. Someone who dawdles on the way to school is likely to arrive ____.
a) late
b) first
c) on time
d) early
Show answer
a) late
