dally
/ˈdæli/verb, noun
dally is spelled D-A-L-L-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, dally means “To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dally?
| Letters | 5: D-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,943rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dally?
Dally appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dally?
- /ˈdæli/
Dally has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dally.ogg, En-au-dally.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with dally
Sounds like: DALY (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: dolly.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of dally
- dallies present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- dallying participle, present
- dallied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dally mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- 2
To caress, especially of a sexual nature; to fondle or pet
- 3
To delay unnecessarily; to while away.
- 4
To wind the lasso rope (ie throw-rope) around the saddle horn (the saddle horn is attached to the pommel of a western style saddle) after the roping of an animal
noun
- 1
Several wraps of rope around the saddle horn, used to stop animals in roping.
- 2
IndiaAlternative form of dolly (“offering of fruit or flowers”).
noun
- 1
colloquialA New Zealand person of Croatian or other Balkan descent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dally in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dally come from?
From Middle English dalien, from Anglo-Norman delaier. Doublet of delay.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).