slouch
Americanverb (used without object)
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to sit or stand with an awkward, drooping posture.
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to move or walk with loosely drooping body and careless gait.
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to have a droop or downward bend, as a hat.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a drooping or bending forward of the head and shoulders; an awkward, drooping posture or carriage.
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an awkward, clumsy, or slovenly person.
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a lazy, inept, or inefficient person.
verb
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(intr) to sit or stand with a drooping bearing
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(intr) to walk or move with an awkward slovenly gait
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(tr) to cause (the shoulders) to droop
noun
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a drooping carriage
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informal (usually used in negative constructions) an incompetent or slovenly person
he's no slouch at football
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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slouchsimple
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slouchessimple
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have slouchedperfect
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has slouchedperfect
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am slouchingprogressive
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are slouchingprogressive
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is slouchingprogressive
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have been slouchingperfect progressive
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has been slouchingperfect progressive
Past
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slouchedsimple
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had slouchedperfect
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was slouchingprogressive
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were slouchingprogressive
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had been slouchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slouch
First recorded in 1505–15; origin uncertain
Explanation
To slouch is to sit or stand with your shoulders hunched. Most people are more likely to slouch when they're tired or bored. You might tend to slouch in math class but sit up straight and tall when your favorite art teacher invites you to enter a piece in an art show. Your math class posture can itself be described as a slouch as well. Yet another meaning of slouch is a person who's lazy or useless — this is actually the word's original definition, from the 1500's. It's thought to be rooted in the Old Norse word slokr, "lazy fellow."
Vocabulary lists containing slouch
The Lingo of Body Language
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Stargirl
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Seedfolks
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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.
One of the more eye-catching was an all-in-one fluffy lounge suit called the Slouch Pouch, worth $100.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
"Slouch @patsajak could not be more uncharismatic," one person tweeted to the host.
From Fox News • Dec. 4, 2020
No one has flipped more coins than Couch Slouch.
From Washington Post • Jan. 26, 2020
Q. If The Slouch were to write a book, what would the title be?
From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2019
"Slouch your pants down a little, boy. You look crazy with your pants all up on your chest like that," he'd joke.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
