do-nothing

American  

[doo-nuhth-ing] / ˈduˌnʌθ ɪŋ /

noun

• do-nothings
  plural

1. a person who chooses to do nothing; a lazy or worthless person.

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adjective

1. characterized by inability or unwillingness to initiate action, work toward a goal, assume responsibility, or the like.

   a do-nothing government.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• do-nothings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of do-nothing

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

do-nothing do-nothings

Yet the role of a do-nothing prince consort doesn’t suit the dutiful, and now fiercely faithful, Alfred, and a war of wills—and of the sexes—ensues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

As much as Forrest is a know-nothing, except when it comes to knowing what love is, he’s also a do-nothing when it comes to acknowledging systemic wrongdoing.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2024

It is the sound of do-nothing summer afternoons in the pre-internet portion of my youth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2021

Consider, however, that Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and chief executive, has said he sets aside “puttering time” every morning before taking any calls or meetings — basically carving out a scheduled chunk of do-nothing time.

From New York Times ● May 29, 2021

The child did not at all like work, and, but for Joan’s insistence, would have been a regular little do-nothing.

From The Piskey-Purse Legends and Tales of North Cornwall by Tregarthen, Enys

And we tell the liars, deniers, and do-nothings to shove off: There’s no future in naysaying.

From The Guardian ● May 22, 2019

Winkler’s Gene Cousineau, a self-serious buffoon long used to being surrounded by weightless do-nothings, mistakes Barry’s confession for an improvised monologue.

From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2019

We associate loafing with people wasting their lives; with harried parents shaking their sleeping teenage children out of bed; with do-nothings, doing nothing.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 23, 2018

According to America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference, an accusatory, tweaked-up documentary that aired on PBS last week, the watchful do-nothings included high officials of the U.S. government.

From Time Magazine Archive

"It's well for them do-nothings," Nekhludoff heard some one say in a hoarse voice as he approached the room of the political prisoners.

From Resurrection by Maude, Louise Shanks