sloth

American  

[slawth, slohth] / slɔθ, sloʊθ /

noun

1. habitual disinclination to exertion; laziness; indolence.

   Indifference, negligence, and sloth have no place in the classroom.

   Synonyms:

   idleness

2. any of several slow-moving, arboreal, tropical American edentates of the family Bradypodidae, having a long, coarse, grayish-brown coat often of a greenish cast caused by algae, and long, hooklike claws used in gripping tree branches while hanging or moving along in a habitual upside-down position.

3. a pack or group of bears.

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sloth British  

/ sləʊθ /

noun

1. any of several shaggy-coated arboreal edentate mammals of the family Bradypodidae, esp Bradypus tridactylus ( three-toed sloth or ai ) or Choloepus didactylus ( two-toed sloth or unau ), of Central and South America. They are slow-moving, hanging upside down by their long arms and feeding on vegetation

2. reluctance to work or exert oneself

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Etymology

Origin of sloth

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English slowth; replacing Old English slǣwth, derivative of slǣw, variant of slāw “slow”; slow, -th ¹

Example Sentences

Researchers in Costa Rica have unearthed fossils from a mastodon and a giant sloth that lived as many as 40,000 years ago, officials announced Friday, calling it the biggest such find here in decades.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

I would wake earlier, but I think in a past life I was a two-toed sloth or something because I’m nocturnal and I move very slowly.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025

It’s hardly a stretch to think that pitch-black darkness at a freakishly early hour could similarly deter would-be voters, out of either sloth or self-preservation.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2025

Rico, who lives with Tina, a female two-toed sloth, in the zoo's jaguar house, has been regularly monitored since the surgery.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2025

I glanced up at the clock and realized I only had thirty more minutes before my first bout, and I was sitting on the ground feeling like a sloth.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad