wasted 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.

“Harvard sued us. Harvard stonewalled us on document requests to which we were entitled. Harvard is defiant. And they’ve wasted time with settlement negotiations that I believe were not in good faith.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

"I'm Crystal Palace manager. It just makes no sense and it's wasted time for you to ask me any more questions so I don't talk about any other club."

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

We spend so much wasted time on negotiating deals, it's pure frustration!

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2025

They are variously seeking damages for lost money, wasted time, and "stress, aggravation, frustration, loss of trust, loss of serenity, and loss of confidence in product labeling."

From Salon • May 21, 2024

Napoleon, on the other hand, argued that the great need of the moment was to increase food production, and that if they wasted time on the windmill they would all starve to death.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell