To dally means to waste time or move slowly when you should be getting something done. When you dally on your way to school, you stop to examine every interesting rock or watch a squirrel instead of walking with purpose. When a student dallies before starting homework, they sharpen pencils unnecessarily, reorganize their desk, or stare out the window.

The word suggests a kind of pleasant dawdling rather than complete laziness. Someone who dallies isn't refusing to do something; they're just taking their sweet time, getting distracted by more interesting things along the way. A teacher might tell dawdling students, “Don't dally! We need to get to the auditorium before the assembly starts.”

Dallying isn't the same as being efficiently slow or working carefully. When you dally, you're lingering when you know you should move along. Your parents might say, “Stop dallying and get in the car!” when you're supposed to leave but you're still playing with the dog or searching for the perfect jacket to wear.