dawdle

/ˈdɔːdl̩/

//ˈdɔːdl̩// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dawdle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dawdle” is uncommon English (frequency #97,999 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,999
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dawdle · dawdle · English

dawdle · rank #97,999 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,999
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dartboard

Nearest frequency peer: dartboard (-3 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “dawdle”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dawdle” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dawdle
PropertyValue
Headworddawdle
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈdɔːdl̩/
Letters6
Frequency rank#97,999
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dawdle” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).dawdlefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “dartboard” (#97,996), “deas” (#98,002), “dango” (#97,995). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dawdle” is #97,999. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dawdle is uncommon English at frequency #97,999 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈdɔːdl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

dawdle doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is possibly: * a variant of daddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk or work slowly, dawdle, saunter, trifle”) or doddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk feebly or slowly, dawdle, idle, saunter, stroll”), possibly influenced by daw (“(Britain, dialectal… The correct English form is dawdle, spelled D-A-W-D-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose.
  2. 2
    To spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time.
  3. 3
    To move or walk lackadaisically.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dawdle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. to dawdle away the whole morning
  2. [M]anaging to live on terms with both / Opposing potentates, the Power and you, / Crowned with success, but dawdle out my days / In exile here at Clairvaux, with mock love, […]

Etymology

The verb is possibly: * a variant of daddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk or work slowly, dawdle, saunter, trifle”) or doddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk feebly or slowly, dawdle, idle, saunter, stroll”), possibly influenced by daw (“(Britain, dialectal) lazy, good-for-nothing person, sluggard”); or * borrowed from Middle Low German dȫdelen (“to dawdle”), related to Saterland Frisian döädelje (“to dawdle”); compare also German daddeln (“to play”), German verdaddeln (“to waste (time), neglect, ruin”). All of these words are assumed to be of imitative origin. The noun is derived from the verb.

This word in other languages

pelotearse(Español)flâner(Français)herumtrödeln(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dawdle"?
"dawdle" is spelled D-A-W-D-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɔːdl̩/.
What does "dawdle" mean?
As a verb, "dawdle" means: Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose.
How do you pronounce "dawdle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dawdle" is /ˈdɔːdl̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dawdle"?
The verb is possibly: * a variant of daddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk or work slowly, dawdle, saunter, trifle”) or doddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk feebly or slowly, dawdle, idle, saunter, stroll”), possibly influenced by daw (“(Britain,... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dawdle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cygnet#97,989dement#98,009Creagh#97,979diable#98,022

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list