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Synonyms

loll

American  
[lol] / lɒl /

verb (used without object)

  • lolls,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • lolled,
    past participle,  past
  • lolling
    present participle
  1. to recline or lean in a relaxed, lazy, or indolent manner; lounge.

    to loll on a sofa.

  2. to hang loosely; droop; dangle.

    The dog stood in the heat with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.


verb (used with object)

  • lolls,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • lolled,
    past participle,  past
  • lolling
    present participle
  1. to allow to hang, droop, or dangle.

noun

Archaic.
  1. the act of lolling.

  2. a person or thing that lolls.

loll British  
/ lɒl /

verb

  1. (intr) to lie, lean, or lounge in a lazy or relaxed manner

  2. to hang or allow to hang loosely

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. an act or instance of lolling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See lounge.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future


Etymology

Origin of loll

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English lollen, lullen (perhaps imitative); compare Middle Dutch lollen “doze, sit near a fire”


Explanation

To loll means to hang around lazily without doing much at all. It's a great pleasure to loll about in the park instead of going to work. But your boss might have a problem with it. Loll means to droop, or hang loosely. We usually use it to describe the behavior of hanging loosely, like lolling about on the beach reading a book. Sometimes it’s the perfect word for a drooping object. If you take your dog for a long run in the hot sun, its tongue will loll out of its mouth. If you fall asleep on the bus ride home, your head might loll onto your neighbor’s shoulder.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing loll

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:

Wouldn’t our tongues loll back into our throats?

From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2023

Members paced back and forth in the chamber, some letting their heads loll back over their chairs.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2023

"There's a scene with Eagly sticking his face out the window of a car and letting us tongue loll," said Baker.

From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2022

And, consequently, masks loll on chins, hang below the nose and sometimes rest atop heads like eyeglasses.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2022

The only thing in this balcony is a gauzy hammock, a light and airful place for me to loll about.

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech

The painting portrays a moment in an ancient Cretan myth recounted in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”: Zeus descends to Earth, transforms himself into a white bull and lolls among the herds belonging to the Phoenician king.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

And when Harry kisses Heather, his tongue lolls out the side of his mouth wriggling back and forth like a blind worm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024

The plant fans and the history fans leaned in to admire the perennials and centuries-old trees on the lawns where Commander the dog lolls and Marine One the helicopter lands.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2022

The dog’s snout lolls in the woman’s open palm.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022

Like a big, soft jellyfish it floats into our shell-hole and lolls there obscenely.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

"I hope one day there will be a cinema, so I can go to the cinema and eat popcorn," said 13-year-old Mohammad Zidan as other children lolled in the sand, giggling at the cartoon.

From Reuters ● Aug. 16, 2023

Legs tucked underneath me as my head lolled to the side, my whole body buzzed with sunburnt warmth and fatigue from a day of walking through echo-y museum hallways and cobblestoned streets across Paris.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2023

The bike’s rear tire whirred in place, kicking up water and mud while the sidecar — a hospital bed on wheels, under a white canvas canopy — lolled dangerously.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2022

On a recent afternoon, baby sea lions, Galapagos pigeons and Sally Lightfoot crabs scrambled across the rocks or lolled in the sunbaked sand on Mosquera’s southern shore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2020

Eventually he slept with his head lolled forward and stayed that way until Leo Lassen went shrill again in ecstasy about the game.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

TOPANGA, Calif.— L.A.’s newest celebrity enjoys strolling the Malibu coast, dining on sushi, and lolling about the backyards of the rich and famous.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025

Indeed, perked up ears with a tongue lolling does not read as scared so much as “squirrel!”

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2025

Let us recall that many Americans have opted for the proverbial staycation — dutifully staying at home during their time off and lolling in the backyard rather than at a fancy resort or theme park.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 30, 2023

The Capri is a souped-up 1963 property with 30 guest rooms, a pool, whirlpool and grassy area often used for lolling and special events, and a Mediterranean-style rock wall dominating the lobby.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2022

Then it crawled completely out of the green and onto the khaki and lost itself among dozens and dozens of other worms that were wriggling or just lolling about between the sea and the sky.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

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