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idle
[ ahyd-l ]
adjective
- not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing:
idle workers.
Synonyms: sluggish
Antonyms: industrious, busy
- not spent or filled with activity:
idle hours.
- not in use or operation; not kept busy:
idle machinery.
- habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.
- of no real worth, importance, or significance:
idle talk.
Synonyms: trifling, trivial, worthless
Antonyms: worthwhile, important
- having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless:
idle fears.
- frivolous; vain:
idle pleasures.
Synonyms: wasteful
- meaningless; senseless:
idle threats.
- futile; unavailing:
idle rage.
verb (used without object)
- to pass time doing nothing.
- to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly:
to idle along the avenue.
- (of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.
verb (used with object)
- to pass (time) doing nothing (often followed by away ):
to idle away the afternoon.
Synonyms: waste
- to cause (a person) to be idle:
The strike idled many workers.
- to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle:
I waited in the car while idling the engine.
noun
- the state or quality of being idle.
- the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling:
a cold engine that stalls at idle.
idle
/ ˈaɪdəl /
adjective
- unemployed or unoccupied; inactive
- not operating or being used
- (of money) not being used to earn interest or dividends
- not wanting to work; lazy
- usually prenominal frivolous or trivial
idle pleasures
- ineffective or powerless; fruitless; vain
- without basis; unfounded
verb
- whentr, often foll by away to waste or pass (time) fruitlessly or inactively
he idled the hours away
- intr to loiter or move aimlessly
- intr (of a shaft, engine, etc) to turn without doing useful work
- intr (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged Also (Brit)tick over
- tr to cause to be inactive or unemployed
Derived Forms
- ˈidly, adverb
- ˈidleness, noun
Other Words From
- i·dle·ness noun
- i·dly adverb
- o·ver·i·dle adjective
- o·ver·i·dle·ness noun
- un·i·dle adjective
- un·i·dling adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of idle1
Word History and Origins
Origin of idle1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
That choice should depend on where the ship is sailing, how long it is due to be idle rather than in motion, and so on, says Dr Hopkinson.
Narbonne hadn’t played a game since Sept. 27 after receiving four forfeit victories and having an idle week.
Narbonne High’s football team, idle since Sept. 27 after four forfeits by Marine League opponents protesting alleged rule violations, is scheduled to return to the field Friday night with a home game against Dorsey in the City Section Open Division playoffs.
A high-ankle sprain kept Gus Edwards idle for four weeks, but the running back has a full tank of gas as the Chargers get into the heart of their schedule.
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack — and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom wrote.
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