idle
Americanadjective
-
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.
- 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 byaway ).
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.
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
-
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
-
Also (Brit): tick over. (intr) (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged
-
(tr) to cause to be inactive or unemployed
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
idlesimple
-
idlessimple
-
have idledperfect
-
has idledperfect
-
am idlingprogressive
-
are idlingprogressive
-
is idlingprogressive
-
have been idlingperfect progressive
-
has been idlingperfect progressive
Past
-
idledsimple
-
had idledperfect
-
was idlingprogressive
-
were idlingprogressive
-
had been idlingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
Something idle is not active. If your car is idling, it's running but not moving. If someone calls you idle, it either means they think you don't have enough to do or that you're just plain lazy. Idle can also mean having no value or purpose: idle rumors are rumors that people make up when they're bored, but have no grounding in fact. As a verb, idle can also refer to a car engine that is running while the vehicle is not moving. The adjective descends from Middle English idel, from Old English īdel "empty."
Vocabulary lists containing idle
Some Tricky Homonyms
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The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
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List 8
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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.
See Examples For:
“You are not an idle passenger of history. You get to control the impact that technology has on you and your society.”
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Vital supplies went down with ships sunk by winter storms or sat idle in the harbor at Balaclava while men died on the heights above.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
In the dark workshops where cars would usually be built, men sat around while tools and wheels were idle.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
The remaining 35% of idle capacity gives Meta an additional monetization lever.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Do you think this drill is made to toy with like a lotus flower? If Pai sees me idle here...”
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
There is an almost continuous succession of scenes in which Nicholson sketches this idler, lover, jokester, manipulator, con man, gambler, loner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2023
Batman co-creator Bob Kane wrote in his 1998 autobiography “Batman and Me”: “The rich foppish Don Diego, Zorro’s alter ego, inspired Bruce Wayne’s facade of being a bored, wealthy idler and playboy.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2020
Oh, that would be the uncle who willed his farm and estate to Onegin, a charming idler.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 9, 2020
In the sweetly melancholy “Yoyo,” often considered his masterpiece, Mr. Étaix played the dual roles of a wealthy idler and his son, who grows up to become the celebrated clown Yoyo.
From New York Times ● Oct. 14, 2016
"But she is not an idler?" said the nun.
From Mariquita A Novel by Ayscough, John
Shettleston is one of Britain’s poorest, idlest and sickest places; at 64, male life expectancy is 15 years below the national average and falling.
From Economist ● Jul. 10, 2014
On the idlest previous day in the history of the bureau, Feb. 25, 1932, there had been 56 licenses issued.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is the idlest thing in the world," he says, "for a man to say, 'I wished it and yet I did not do it.'
From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by Glover, T. R. (Terrot Reaveley)
There it remains, behind spiked railings, the idlest monument of a whim.
From Highways and Byways in Surrey by Thomson, Hugh
You and Francie are the two idlest folk in the house just now, aren't you, Jessie? so suppose you turn errand-women?'
From Holiday Tales by Wilford, Florence
On a warm day in mid-May, Grohl appears relaxed and self-assured — but not arrogant — as she idles on a sofa in a cozy Studio City ADU owned by her publicist.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
As I sit in the car with C after the second ICE vehicle sped off, the remaining Wagoneer idles midblock—right in front of C’s house.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2026
A man drives by in a beat-up blue Camry, waving a green Seahawks helmet out the window as he idles along.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2020
The vessel, having reached the rig, idles on foamy water beneath its rigid steel beams, in a sticky, highway-scented mist.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2020
Connor and I sit in the back seat as the car idles.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
His girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, idled their car in a disabled parking spot, accompanied by the couple’s other child.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2026
He voiced his rage over an empty reservoir, idled fire trucks and what he called dangerous brush clearance policies.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Then there is MP, which restarted the Mountain Pass mine in 2018 External link after it had idled in 2015.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
Repositioning of tankers and a return to normal operations for idled plants were among the factors Nasser cited for the delay.
From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026
Strikers idled in bars around the Yard, staring out the window at the steady stream of men and women the packers were bringing in.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
The officer walked up to my idling Impala and informed me that my left taillight was out.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
But the sounds of idling diesel work truck engines had replaced the dozens of fire trucks that had been stationed there for days.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Further earnings upside is expected from successful redeployment of idling workboats and newbuild orders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
"I don't think anyone who is struggling with fuel costs would benefit from sitting in an idling queue with their engines turning over and their fuel being wasted."
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
I see three boys skateboarding, a pick-up truck idling a few spaces over, and a handful of road trippers wandering into McDonald’s for a bathroom break.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
