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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:

The world’s tiniest monkeys, called pygmy marmosets, scamper over branches, and the world’s largest rodents, capybaras, loll along riverbanks.

From New York Times Jan. 14, 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 wolf let his tongue loll out between his teeth, tasting the frigid air, his breath misting as snowflakes melted on his tongue.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Her head nods and lolls about, but she’s otherwise motionless.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 24, 2023

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

Behind a guard house lolls a mix of low-slung brick residence halls, classroom buildings and restaurants, a fieldstone plaza with a fireplace, hiking trails and a helipad.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 14, 2018

His tongue lolls out the side of his mouth as the boat makes its way across the Puget Sound.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

"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

His tongue lolled out, and his wide, square jaw was open as if he was grinning ear to ear.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 18, 2023

"He opened his mouth, lolled his tongue, and with child-like abandon licked an imaginary cone, his diamond pinky ring sparkling in the bar lights," Kucinich writes.

From Salon Jul. 23, 2021

With free popcorn and Oscar ballots snatched up from a banquette, chicly attired attendees tasked a short-staffed bar with their orders and lolled in comfy chairs.

From Seattle Times Feb. 24, 2019

Here they meandered in their tiny sailboats, tacking and coming about; they painted, hoed, swept, and planted when the mood for therapeutic work struck them, and lolled on the beach when they felt like it.

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

That section once held a restaurant, a public restroom building, and several sea lion viewing holes — openings in the decking used to watch the pinnipeds lolling on the crossbeams below.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 8, 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 beast started for Nhamo with its red tongue lolling out of its mouth.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

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