lazy
Americanadjective
-
tending to avoid work, activity, or exertion.
She was too lazy to take out the trash, so it just continued to pile up.
- Synonyms:
- slothful
- Antonyms:
- industrious
-
causing or characterized by idleness or inactivity.
It was a hot, lazy afternoon.
I’m having a lazy day today, just lounging and watching movies.
-
slow-moving; sluggish.
a lazy stream.
- Antonyms:
- quick
-
Computers. of or relating to an operator or quantifier in a search query that will return the smallest match result possible.
-
(of a livestock brand) placed on its side instead of upright.
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
not inclined to work or exertion
-
conducive to or causing indolence
-
moving in a languid or sluggish manner
a lazy river
-
(of a brand letter or mark on livestock) shown as lying on its side
Synonym Usage
See idle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of lazy
First recorded in 1540–50; compare Low German lasich “languid, idle”
Explanation
While lazy actually means being averse to work or avoiding it, it can also be used to describe something slow-moving or unenergetic, like when you stroll down the garden path with a lazy gait, not in a hurry to get anywhere. The adjective lazy is thought to come from the Low German lasich, meaning "idle or languid." You were offended at being called lazy, but you just didn't have the energy to defend yourself. After all, who doesn't enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon? Former President of Poland Lech Walesa once considered the benefits of being lazy when he said, “It's the lazy people who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn't like walking or carrying things."
Vocabulary lists containing lazy
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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.
The latest “Scary Movie,” which simply recycles the title “Scary Movie,” is as lazy, dumb and offensive as the others.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
The eight-minute “Actress” is an aural trip that croons of a lazy wannabe-actress, before it climbs to rocking, triumphal heights with a soaring string section.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
Joe, from Northampton, said he ordered about "two or three" takeaways a week despite admitting it was "lazy but convenient".
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
"The narrative that connects AI to job loss, for many of the CEOs that are doing it -- it is just too lazy," he said.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
Not long after our parents left, Miss Lilian hired a caretaker, a lazy old man named Jimmy Watts.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
