loafer
noun
a person who loafs; lazy person; idler.
Showing results for loafer.
loafer
1 American
[loh-fer]
/ ˈloʊ fər /
noun
loafers
plural
Loafer
2
American
[loh-fer]
/ ˈloʊ fər /
Trademark.
loafer
British
/ ˈləʊfə /
noun
-
a person who avoids work; idler
-
a moccasin-like shoe for casual wear
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of loafer
1820–30, perhaps short for *landloafer vagabond; compare German (obsolete) Landläufer, Dutch landloper; see landloper
Explanation
If you're a loafer, you avoid working whenever possible, preferring to lounge around relaxing instead. And, if you're too lazy to tie your own shoes, you may prefer to wear loafers — slip-on shoes without laces. If you're a loafer at work, your co-workers will grow to resent you for doing nothing while they do their jobs. Loafers like to loaf, or "spend time in an idle, aimless way." People will call you a loafer if you spend most of your time in a reclining position, take frequent breaks for snacks and naps, or obviously avoid anything resembling hard work. This noun has been in use since the mid-1800s, but its origin isn't clear. The shoe called a loafer got its name because it's easily slipped on, without the work of laces and knots.
Vocabulary lists containing loafer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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The Crossover
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The Life I'm In
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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:
The soap-bubble fantasy of Ms. Lemann’s New Orleans rather calls to mind the Hundred Acre Wood, if Christopher Robin were a gentle, dissipated loafer in a wrinkled seersucker suit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
“She’s a loafer for life now,” Kelce confirmed.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2025
The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front porch, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of shrimp is beginning to boil.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2023
Rorem’s gentle, post-Romantic gestures were always tempered by notes of existential angst — there was ever a pebble in Ned’s proverbial loafer.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 21, 2022
As soon as he was clear of the Customs booth, however, he stomped a tasseled loafer down on the accelerator and the squealing Cadillac rocketed away.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Campo Loafer is the ultimate in cool with its curved kitten heel and bulky asymmetrical silhouette.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024
The fire broke out on the top floor of the Loafer Lodge in the Wellington neighbourhood of Newtown just after midnight on Tuesday.
From Reuters ● May 15, 2023
From the great Loafer, a film by Madras film-maker A Bhimsingh.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 14, 2011
Loafer pointed to the buildings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which catalogs call: "classical Roman laid out in the French manner."
From Time Magazine Archive
And Due stepped up to her and said: "Loafer!"
From Nuova or The New Bee by Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
Instead there is a collection of 12 mix-and-match pieces in navy and cream from Marks and Spencer, the FA's official partner, with not a tie in sight, all accessorised with loafers.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
He got the suit for $100 in L.A.’s fashion district and the loafers as a graduation gift from his mother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
An account affiliated with the Libertarian Party on X appeared to tacitly support Weir’s proposal, posting a palette of button-down shirts, quarter zips, khakis and loafers to guide the choices of convention attendees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
It reminds me of when I went to Catholic school and you’d go shopping for school clothes at the Bass outlet and they’d have walls and walls of penny loafers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
With hat, briefcase, and loafers, Milton might have been on his way to work.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
