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waste time

VERB
idle away time
Synonyms
WEAK
burn daylight dally dawdle delay dillydally fiddle about fritter away time goof off kill time linger loiter lollygag lose time pass the time piddle procrastinate shilly-shally take one's own sweet time take one's time tarry while away the time

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Why put up with all the ridiculous ways that golfers waste time?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who for months has been making the case to Trump to back Cornyn, didn’t waste time pushing.

From Slate • Mar. 4, 2026

Stern apparently forwards it to Epstein with the words, "Don't waste time reading the below, just scroll through it for a flavour of the mess".

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

Would you waste time and money on this trip to make your mother-in-law’s dream come true, even at great expense and annoyance?

From MarketWatch • Dec. 8, 2025

But Dad said 93 Little Hobart Street was such a dump that we shouldn’t waste time or energy on it that we could be devoting to the Glass Castle.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls