dal ‧ ly /ˈdæli/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle dallied , present participle dallying , third person singular dallies ) [intransitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Anglo-French ; Origin: dalier ]
1 . to take too long to do something, especially to make a decision:
After months of dallying, the government has finally agreed to allow the plan to go ahead.
2 . to spend some time in a place, on your way to somewhere else:
He dallied in the Lake District for a while, then crossed to Belgium.
dally with somebody/something phrasal verb
1 . to do something or think about something, but not in a very serious way:
They’ve dallied with the idea of touring round the world.
2 . old-fashioned to have a romantic relationship with someone, but not in a serious way