tardy

1 of 2

adjective

tar·​dy ˈtär-dē How to pronounce tardy (audio)
tardier; tardiest
1
: moving slowly : sluggish
the tardy pace at which she was obliged to walkCharles Dickens
2
: delayed beyond the expected or proper time : late
a tardy arrival

tardy

2 of 2

noun

plural tardies
: an instance of being tardy (as to a class)

Examples of tardy in a Sentence

Adjective She was tardy to work. They were tardy in filing the application.
Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
Only three teams averaged fewer substitutions before the 75th minute than Hayes’ 2.0 per game, while her average time of making a change (74.1 minutes into a game) was tardier than the tournament average of 68.6. Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 11 Aug. 2024 Learn more: Best credit cards of 2023 A loophole allowed banks to charge excessive late fees, regulators say Under the CARD Act, banks were supposed to charge late fees only to recover their costs in collecting the tardy payments. Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 Experts come up to your door like a tardy caroling group, come around to offer their vast expertise. Erik Sherman, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025 In his first public comments since Monday night’s team meeting, in which guard Tyrese Maxey spoke to Embiid about being tardy to team functions, and Tuesday’s reports of that meeting. Tony Jones, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tardy 

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

alteration of earlier tardif, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *tardivus, from Latin tardus

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1960, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tardy was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near tardy

Cite this Entry

“Tardy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tardy. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

tardy

adjective
tar·​dy
ˈtärd-ē
tardier; tardiest
1
: moving slowly : sluggish
2
: not on time : late
tardily
ˈtärd-ə-lē
adverb
tardiness
ˈtärd-ē-nəs
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on tardy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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