sloth

American  

[slawth, slohth] / slɔθ, sloʊθ /

noun

• sloths
  plural

1. habitual disinclination to exertion; laziness; indolence.

   Indifference, negligence, and sloth have no place in the classroom.

   Synonyms:

   idleness

2. any of several slow-moving, arboreal, tropical American edentates of the family Bradypodidae, having a long, coarse, grayish-brown coat often of a greenish cast caused by algae, and long, hooklike claws used in gripping tree branches while hanging or moving along in a habitual upside-down position.

3. a pack or group of bears.

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sloth British  

/ sləʊθ /

noun

1. any of several shaggy-coated arboreal edentate mammals of the family Bradypodidae, esp Bradypus tridactylus ( three-toed sloth or ai ) or Choloepus didactylus ( two-toed sloth or unau ), of Central and South America. They are slow-moving, hanging upside down by their long arms and feeding on vegetation

2. reluctance to work or exert oneself

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sloths
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sloth

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English slowth; replacing Old English slǣwth, derivative of slǣw, variant of slāw “slow”; see slow, -th ¹

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Explanation

If you lounge around in your bathrobe watching TV and ordering out for pizza, you'll get called a sloth. A sloth is actually a slow-moving, tree-dwelling mammal, but it has become a synonym for "lazybones." Slug also doubles as the name of an animal and a term for someone who is lazy, slow or lethargic. But with slug, the animal name probably morphed into the human application, whereas sloth has meant "lazy person" or "laziness" for a long time. In the Catholic Church sloth was categorized as one of the seven deadly sins.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sloth sloths

We have trained sloth and docility and are reaping what we have sown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

There was also Drepanosaurus, a tree-dwelling reptile equipped with a large claw resembling that of a tree sloth, along with a smaller claw on its prehensile tail.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026

In 2017, Attenborough told BBC News if he had to be an animal for a day he would "undoubtedly be a sloth".

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

Keepers had raised concerns that Arlo seemed particularly lethargic, even by sloth standards.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

My zoology thesis was a functional analysis of the thyroid gland of the three-toed sloth.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

In ancient California, they are believed to have existed alongside other extinct native species, including bison-sized Jefferson’s ground sloths, Columbian mammoths and western camels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Tourists fill the arrivals lounge at the airport each day, then head to the pristine beaches, or to catch glimpses of sloths in the rainforest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The California Department of Motor Vehicles, long synonymous with slow lines and bureaucracy — immortalized by the sloths of the Department of Mammal Vehicles in Disney’s “Zootopia” — is expanding its digital services.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Most of the remains belonged to rodents, but researchers also recovered fossils from sloths, birds, reptiles, and many other animals, representing more than 50 species.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026

Beebe reported that firing guns next to sleeping or feeding sloths elicited little reaction.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

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