lollygag
/ˈlɒlɪɡæɡ/verb, noun
lollygag is spelled L-O-L-L-Y-G-A-G: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 62 million words in written English, the 246,401st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, lollygag means “To dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lollygag?
| Letters | 8: L-O-L-L-Y-G-A-G |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 62 million words; the 246,401st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lollygag?
Lollygag appears about once in every 62 million words in written English, the 246,401st 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 lollygag?
- /ˈlɒlɪɡæɡ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-lollygag.ogg, En-au-lollygag.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lollygag
- lollygags present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- lollygagging participle, present
- lollygagged participle, past
- lallygag
- lollygog
- lalligag
- lolligag
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lollygag mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
USTo dawdle; to be lazy or idle; to avoid necessary work or effort.
- 2
USdatedTo fool around, especially sexually.
- 3
USdatedTo effusively (often excessively) display affection.
noun
- 1
USSilliness, nonsense.
He likes to do his car up with blacked-out windows, and all that lollygag.
- 2
USdatedA useless or worthless person or thing.
The lallygag strolls down the road that leads to Failureville.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lollygag 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 lollygag come from?
By surface analysis, lolly (“fool, tongue”) + gag (“fool around”). Compare lollypoop. Cited in American dialects from 1871 and attested since at least 1859.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).