dally
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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He did not dally, perhaps mindful of what had happened the night before.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
If you dally as the clock approaches 2 p.m. on Sunday, you will see that Jerson Osorio’s team can unbuild a city as fast as they can build one.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024
Don’t dally — food is only out for one hour.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
The staging doesn’t dally but there’s enough stillness to allow emotion to drop like a stone into a pond.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2019
“I, for one, will not dally, as I’m incredibly busy.”
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
The author gallops through vital moments in world history across the centuries but dallies over what seem like niche aspects of medieval French history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Nightmare for stand-in Dons captain Angus MacDonald as he dallies on the ball and is dispossessed by Kyogo Furuhashi.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2024
If the Fed dallies, and higher inflation becomes a more lasting feature of the economy, it will be even harder to stamp out.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2022
BST10:12 11 min: Gosling dallies in midfield, and Villa come away with it.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 8, 2015
You know at taking leave of a party at a doorway, sometimes a man dallies and foolishes and gets awkward, and does not know how to make off to advantage.
From Letters of John Keats to His Family and Friends by John Keats
Rennes midfielder Quentin Merlin dallied deep in his own area and was ambushed by Timothy Weah who passed to Amine Gouiri.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
It, along with its sibling, had stood empty for nearly 25 years, as local, county and Navy authorities dallied on what to do with them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
Two minutes later though, Carreras dallied over a clearing kick to allow Dan to charge down, gather up and take revenge and restore England's advantage at 23-17.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2023
After the fourth try, scored by Etzebeth, made it 26-25, Dupont dallied on the ball and got knocked back as South Africa won a penalty and went further ahead.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
Most of the northern half had moved to the kitchen to get fed but Caesar dallied.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
In doing so, McAfee showed he’s not one for dallying, setting the trial 11 days before the Nov. 3 deadline.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2023
We are saying to the Irish government to stop dilly dallying and make a move so that we can get that medicine to the children as early as possible.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2022
Stop dodging and dallying and dancing around the inevitable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2021
Klopp empowers his players to think for themselves: the iconic winning goal against Barcelona in last year’s Champions League semifinal came from the squad’s observation that its opponent was dallying during set pieces.
From New York Times ● Jun. 26, 2020
He’s dallying around, probably just keeping a low profile while he waits.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Vocabulary lists containing dally
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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King Lear
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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
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