loafer
noun
a person who loafs; lazy person; idler.
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 clown-toed Martine Rose loafer heels that I got on mega-sale on Farfetch and represent all my alt-kid dreams come true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 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
I picked my burro because he looked young and strong and eager, but he was the worst loafer in the bunch.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
If I had requested a Big Loafer steak sandwich and bacon at eight in the morning, I suspect her only follow-up would have been, “One piece or two?”
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
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
At The Chequers few of the saltwater fellows fore-gathered, but when they did our Loafer was never long in picking them up.
From The Chequers Being the Natural History of a Public-House, Set Forth in a Loafer's Diary by James Runciman
Groppo highlighted the enthusiasm among a new male audience for Chanel ready-to-wear, including "loafers, trainers, blazers and bags".
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Those still open tend to have generators, menus priced in dollars and a clientele of well-connected Cubans, decked in salmon shirts and tassel loafers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
The illicit purchases also included games consoles, a £100 chopstick set, £100 men's loafers and £2.50 hand cream.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
A man representing Schlesinger, dressed in white slacks, polished loafers and a dark pinkish-red blazer stands at the edge of the pool, near its shadowy edges, staring down at the swimmer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
The courtyard with its benches and cracked cobblestone ground is spattered with black-and-white bird droppings and filled with green-and-white uniforms and brown legs and shiny loafers, running and screaming and pushing and jumping.
From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
