Dawdle: meaning, definitions and examples

Best used when someone is wasting time by being slow or idle, often in a casual or aimless manner.

• Don't dawdle on your way to school, or you'll be late
• She tends to dawdle when getting ready in the morning

Implies remaining in a place without an apparent purpose, often used in a negative or suspicious sense.

• Teenagers were loitering around the entrance of the mall
• Security asked them not to loiter near the store

Used when someone is intentionally delaying or putting off something, especially tasks that are important or need to be done, often due to laziness or avoidance.

• Stop procrastinating and start working on your assignment
• He tends to procrastinate when it comes to difficult tasks

Used when there is a purposeful or unavoidable postponement of something, typically involving a schedule or timeline.

• The flight was delayed due to bad weather
• We need to delay the project until we receive more information

Appropriate when someone stays in a place longer than necessary, often because they are reluctant to leave. It can have both positive or negative connotations.

• She lingered at the door, not wanting to say goodbye
• The smell of coffee lingered in the air long after the café closed