idler

[ahyd-ler]

noun

1. a person who passes time in a lazy or unproductive way.

2. Machinery.,  an idle gear, wheel, or pulley.

3. Railroads.,  an empty freight car placed under the projecting end of a long object carried by the next car, so that the latter can be connected with another part of the train.

4. Nautical.,  day man.

idler

/ ˈaɪdlə /

noun

1. a person who idles

2. another name for idle pulley idle wheel

3. nautical a ship's crew member, such as a carpenter, sailmaker, etc, whose duties do not include standing regular watches

Word History and Origins

Origin of idler¹

First recorded in 1525–35; idle + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Ripley, a slacker and a con man grinding out a living in postwar New York, is sent to Italy to try to persuade a trust-funded idler to come home and take over the family business.

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There is an almost continuous succession of scenes in which Nicholson sketches this idler, lover, jokester, manipulator, con man, gambler, loner.

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Among other things, the authors described Britons as “among the worst idlers in the world.”

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In 2012 he contributed to a more overtly political tract called “Britannia Unchained” — a paean of praise to free markets that described the British as “among the worst idlers in the world.”

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A decade ago they were co-authors of the political treatise “Britannia Unchained,” which notoriously included the claim that British workers are “among the worst idlers in the world.”

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