idle

American  

[ahyd-l] / ˈaɪd l /

adjective

idler, idlest

1. not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing.

   idle workers.

   Synonyms:

   sluggish

   Antonyms:

   industrious, busy

2. not spent or filled with activity.

   idle hours.

3. not in use or operation; not kept busy.

   idle machinery.

4. habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.

5. of no real worth, importance, or significance.

   idle talk.

   Synonyms:

   trifling, trivial, worthless

   Antonyms:

   worthwhile, important

6. having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless.

   idle fears.

7. frivolous; vain.

   idle pleasures.

   Synonyms:

   wasteful

8. meaningless; senseless.

   idle threats.

9. futile; unavailing.

   idle rage.

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verb (used without object)

idled, idling

1. to pass time doing nothing.

2. to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly.

   to idle along the avenue.

3. (of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.

verb (used with object)

idled, idling

1. to pass (time) doing nothing (often followed byaway ).

   to idle away the afternoon.

   Synonyms:

   waste

2. to cause (a person) to be idle.

   The strike idled many workers.

3. to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle.

   I waited in the car while idling the engine.

noun

1. the state or quality of being idle.

2. the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling.

   a cold engine that stalls at idle.

idle British  

/ ˈaɪdəl /

adjective

1. unemployed or unoccupied; inactive

2. not operating or being used

3. (of money) not being used to earn interest or dividends

4. not wanting to work; lazy

5. (usually prenominal) frivolous or trivial

   idle pleasures

6. ineffective or powerless; fruitless; vain

7. without basis; unfounded

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verb

1. to waste or pass (time) fruitlessly or inactively

   he idled the hours away

2. (intr) to loiter or move aimlessly

3. (intr) (of a shaft, engine, etc) to turn without doing useful work

4. Also (Brit): tick over.  (intr) (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged

5. (tr) to cause to be inactive or unemployed

Related Words

Idle, indolent, lazy, slothful apply to a person who is not active. To be idle is to be inactive or not working at a job. The word is sometimes derogatory, but not always, since one may be relaxing temporarily or may be idle through necessity: pleasantly idle on a vacation; to be idle because one is unemployed or because supplies are lacking. The indolent person is naturally disposed to avoid exertion: indolent and slow in movement; an indolent and contented fisherman. The lazy person is averse to exertion or work, and especially to continued application; the word is usually derogatory: too lazy to earn a living; incurably lazy. Slothful denotes a reprehensible unwillingness to carry one's share of the burden: so slothful as to be a burden on others. See loiter.

Other Word Forms

• idleness noun
• idly adverb
• overidle adjective
• overidleness noun
• unidle adjective
• unidling adjective

Etymology

Origin of idle

First recorded before 900, and in 1915–20 idle for def. 12; Middle English, Old English īdel (adjective) “empty, trifling, vain, useless”; cognate with German eitel

Example Sentences

Staff members watched from the doorway while two white school security SUVs idled nearby.

From Los Angeles Times

Facilities which would normally build thousands of cars each week remained idle for more than a month, and production did not get back to normal for some time after that.

From BBC

Using the political polls to time the stock market is little more than idle armchair speculation.

From MarketWatch

Stripping out one-time items, such as idle facility costs and recovery efforts associated with a fatal mudslide incident that occurred at one of its mines in September, earnings were 47 cents a share.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sharma said he knows multiple sanctioned shipowners who would like to scrap ships but continue in the shadow trades because they can’t sell the vessels and can’t afford to keep them idle.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• empty
• unproductive
• useless