idle

[ahyd-l]

adjective

idler, idlest 

1. not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing.

   idle workers.

   Synonyms: sluggish
   Antonyms: industrious, busy

2. not spent or filled with activity.

   idle hours.

3. not in use or operation; not kept busy.

   idle machinery.

4. habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.

5. of no real worth, importance, or significance.

   idle talk.

   Synonyms: trifling, trivial, worthless
   Antonyms: worthwhile, important

6. having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless.

   idle fears.

7. frivolous; vain.

   idle pleasures.

   Synonyms: wasteful

8. meaningless; senseless.

   idle threats.

9. futile; unavailing.

   idle rage.

verb (used without object)

idled, idling 

1. to pass time doing nothing.

2. to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly.

   to idle along the avenue.

3. (of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.

verb (used with object)

idled, idling 

1. to pass (time) doing nothing (often followed byaway ).

   to idle away the afternoon.

   Synonyms: waste

2. to cause (a person) to be idle.

   The strike idled many workers.

3. to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle.

   I waited in the car while idling the engine.

noun

1. the state or quality of being idle.

2. the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling.

   a cold engine that stalls at idle.

idle

/ ˈaɪdəl /

adjective

1. unemployed or unoccupied; inactive

2. not operating or being used

3. (of money) not being used to earn interest or dividends

4. not wanting to work; lazy

5. (usually prenominal) frivolous or trivial

   idle pleasures

6. ineffective or powerless; fruitless; vain

7. without basis; unfounded

verb

1. to waste or pass (time) fruitlessly or inactively

   he idled the hours away

2. (intr) to loiter or move aimlessly

3. (intr) (of a shaft, engine, etc) to turn without doing useful work

4. Also (Brit): tick over. (intr) (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged

5. (tr) to cause to be inactive or unemployed

Other Word Forms

• idleness noun
• idly adverb
• overidle adjective
• overidleness noun
• unidle adjective
• unidling adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of idle¹

First recorded before 900, and in 1915–20 idle for def. 12; Middle English, Old English īdel (adjective) “empty, trifling, vain, useless”; cognate with German eitel

Word History and Origins

Origin of idle¹

Old English īdel; compare Old High German ītal empty, vain

Synonym Study

Idle, indolent, lazy, slothful apply to a person who is not active. To be idle is to be inactive or not working at a job. The word is sometimes derogatory, but not always, since one may be relaxing temporarily or may be idle through necessity: pleasantly idle on a vacation; to be idle because one is unemployed or because supplies are lacking. The indolent person is naturally disposed to avoid exertion: indolent and slow in movement; an indolent and contented fisherman. The lazy person is averse to exertion or work, and especially to continued application; the word is usually derogatory: too lazy to earn a living; incurably lazy. Slothful denotes a reprehensible unwillingness to carry one's share of the burden: so slothful as to be a burden on others. See loiter.

Example Sentences

But after the tourism peak, he said, these boats had been "sitting idle in the bay" and it took them years just to make back the money they spent.

Read more on BBC

Her furrowed-brow, thinking-hard expression looked not unlike Penelope’s, although Penelope had no way of knowing that, as she was not the sort of person who spent her idle hours staring into mirrors.

Read more on Literature

That way everyone wasn’t investing in duplicate equipment or machines that would sit idle until the same time next year.

Read more on Literature

Then, when demand growth slows, commodity production falls, and sometimes underperforming mines are even idled, stabilizing prices and earnings for commodity producers.

Read more on Barron's

They don’t jostle with airport crowds or idle unnecessarily in traffic.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• empty 
• unproductive 
• useless