different between dawdle vs scoot

English

Etymology

First attested around 1656; variant of daddle (“to walk unsteadily”), perhaps influenced by daw, since the bird was regarded as sluggish and silly. Not in general use until around 1775. Compare also German daddeln (“to play”), German verdaddeln (“to waste (time), neglect, ruin”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d??d?l/
• Rhymes: -??d?l
• Homophone: doddle (in accents with the cot-caught merger)

Verb

dawdle (third-person singular simple present dawdles, present participle dawdling, simple past and past participle dawdled)

1. (intransitive) To spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time.
2. (transitive) To spend (time) without haste or purpose.

3. (intransitive) To move or walk lackadaisically.

Translations

See also

• dally, dander, dandle, diddle, loaf, piddle, wander, doodle

Noun

dawdle (plural dawdles)

1. A dawdler.
   • 1766, George Colman the Elder and David Garrick, The Clandestine Marriage, Act I, page 13

     Where is this dawdle of a housekeeper?

2. A slow walk, journey.
3. An easily accomplished task; a doddle.

Anagrams

• Dewald, Waddle, dwaled, waddle, walded

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sku?t/
• Rhymes: -u?t

Etymology 1

Of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old Norse skjóta (“to shoot”), or perhaps related to Middle English scottlynge (“moving one's feet quickly, scampering”, literally “scuttling”), see scuddle, scuttle.

Noun

scoot (plural scoots)

1. (slang) A dollar.
2. (slang) a scooter.
3. A sideways shuffling or sliding motion.

Verb

scoot (third-person singular simple present scoots, present participle scooting, simple past and past participle scooted)

1. (Can we clean up⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (intransitive) To walk fast; to go quickly; to run away hastily.

   They scooted over to the window.

2. (intransitive) To ride on a scooter.
3. (of an animal) To move with the forelegs while sitting, so that the floor rubs against its rear end.

   The dog was scooting all over our new carpet.
4. (intransitive) To move sideways (especially along a seat for multiple people), usually to make room for someone else (to sit, stand, etc.).

   Do you mind scooting a bit to the left?

5. (transitive) To dispatch someone or something at speed.
   • 1930, Frank Richards, The Magnet, Prout's Lovely Black Eye

     He scooted us out of the study and turned off the light […]

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:scoot.

Derived terms

• scoot over

Translations

Etymology 2

Variant of shoot.

Verb

scoot (third-person singular simple present scoots, present participle scooting, simple past and past participle scooted)

1. (Scotland, transitive) To squirt.

Noun

scoot (plural scoots)

1. (Scotland) A sudden flow of water; a squirt.

Anagrams

• Cotos, Scoto-, coost, coots, costo-, cotso, scoto-, tocos