loiter
Americanverb (used without object)
-
loiters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
loitered,
past participle, past
-
loitering
present participle
-
to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place.
to loiter around the bus terminal.
- Synonyms:
- loaf
-
to move in a slow, idle manner, making purposeless stops in the course of a trip, journey, errand, etc..
to loiter on the way to work.
-
to waste time or dawdle over work.
He loiters over his homework until one in the morning.
verb (used with object)
-
loiters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
loitered,
past participle, past
-
loitering
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
Loiter, dally, dawdle, idle imply moving or acting slowly, stopping for unimportant reasons, and in general wasting time. To loiter is to linger aimlessly: to loiter outside a building. To dally is to loiter indecisively or to delay as if free from care or responsibility: to dally on the way home. To dawdle is to saunter, stopping often, and taking a great deal of time, or to fritter away time working in a halfhearted way: to dawdle over a task. To idle is to move slowly and aimlessly, or to spend a great deal of time doing nothing: to idle away the hours.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
loitersimple
-
loiterssimple
-
have loiteredperfect
-
has loiteredperfect
-
am loiteringprogressive
-
are loiteringprogressive
-
is loiteringprogressive
-
have been loiteringperfect progressive
-
has been loiteringperfect progressive
Past
-
loiteredsimple
-
had loiteredperfect
-
was loiteringprogressive
-
were loiteringprogressive
-
had been loiteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of loiter
First recorded before 1300–50; Middle English loteren, loytren, perhaps from Middle Dutch loteren “to stagger, totter”; compare Dutch leuteren “to dawdle”
Explanation
To loiter is to hang around a place with no real purpose, usually somewhere where you are not welcome — like under the “No Loitering” sign at a convenience store. If you’re a dawdler, or a loafer, then you are probably inclined to loiter from time to time. The verb loiter is similar to “hang out,” but it has a more negative connotation and is sometimes associated with acting illegally. You might hang out at your friend’s house watching movies, but you would loiter by the vending machine at school when you are supposed be in class.
Vocabulary lists containing loiter
Fever 1793
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Ghost
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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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:
Ramontez Bennett’s drone from Anduril Industries was supposed to loiter overhead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
We would loiter, mostly, and eat the shredded beef nachos that I still think about to this day while the plastic of our high-top Converse grilled on the scalding asphalt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
During this phase, the spacecraft will follow a large "loiter" orbit that stretches roughly 2 million miles from Earth.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026
In the Plus bonus mini-episode: Starbucks wanted to be a classy Italian espresso house, but it became a modern milkshake shop for teens to loiter and flirt.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2024
So I loiter at the edge of the village, waiting for Father’s return.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Alexis Perez, 52, loiters beside the settlement where he typically spends two weeks straight, working 12-hour days before returning to his family.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
“And then you put your reading on your fridge, or in your book, or in your journal, or it just loiters at the bottom of your bag for months, if you’re me.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2023
It says the vessel slows down when it approaches areas where there are wind farms and loiters in the area.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2023
Four weeks later, the old, thin crescent moon finds Mars again on Dec. 31 and loiters with the Red Planet and the reddish binary star Antares.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 26, 2021
He loiters with Larkin, too, by the great stable-yard of the inn, though it is forbidden ground.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 90, April, 1865 by Various
In the days, weeks and months leading up to the release of “Michael,” the one question that loitered at the top of my mind was why Jackson’s estate wasn’t content to leave well enough alone.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
He loitered in the streets with his friends and called them “my pippin.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
Border Patrol cops loitered on the sidewalks of a popular nightlife strip, where they got an earful from a passerby in a pink pointelle shirt.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2025
He is also alleged to have "loitered in the area of her temporary residence".
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2024
Although I knew it was risky, I loitered as close to the gates as possible, waiting for a moment when I might be able to dart through them.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
“For privacy purposes, they’re not flying just in the sky and loitering, they’re responding at the onset of a call, usually through 9-1-1,” Warner said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
A Russian deep sea 'research' ship, the Yantar, has been seen loitering close to the points where these cables come ashore.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Aevex External link is a California-based maker of drones and loitering munitions that recently completed its IPO External link on April 17.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
Cease your practice of copying tour pros, who have turned golf into survival of the finickiest by adhering to preshot routines that violate loitering laws in most states.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
He leaves, only to be arrested in town—twice, both times for loitering.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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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.
