idle
Americanadjective
-
not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing.
idle workers.
- Synonyms:
- sluggish
- Antonyms:
- industrious, busy
-
not spent or filled with activity.
idle hours.
-
not in use or operation; not kept busy.
idle machinery.
-
habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.
-
of no real worth, importance, or significance.
idle talk.
- Antonyms:
- worthwhile, important
-
having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless.
idle fears.
-
frivolous; vain.
idle pleasures.
- Synonyms:
- wasteful
-
meaningless; senseless.
idle threats.
-
futile; unavailing.
idle rage.
verb (used without object)
-
to pass time doing nothing.
-
to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly.
to idle along the avenue.
-
(of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.
verb (used with object)
-
to pass (time) doing nothing (often followed byaway ).
to idle away the afternoon.
- Synonyms:
- waste
-
to cause (a person) to be idle.
The strike idled many workers.
-
to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle.
I waited in the car while idling the engine.
noun
-
the state or quality of being idle.
-
the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling.
a cold engine that stalls at idle.
adjective
-
unemployed or unoccupied; inactive
-
not operating or being used
-
(of money) not being used to earn interest or dividends
-
not wanting to work; lazy
-
(usually prenominal) frivolous or trivial
idle pleasures
-
ineffective or powerless; fruitless; vain
-
without basis; unfounded
verb
-
to waste or pass (time) fruitlessly or inactively
he idled the hours away
-
(intr) to loiter or move aimlessly
-
(intr) (of a shaft, engine, etc) to turn without doing useful work
-
Also (Brit): tick over. (intr) (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged
-
(tr) to cause to be inactive or unemployed
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
- idleness noun
- idly adverb
- overidle adjective
- overidleness noun
- unidle adjective
- unidling adjective
Etymology
Origin of idle
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
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.
"But it's not lost on me that these are not idle threats," Balmer said.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Uploads and downloads were fast and didn’t idle.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
Taiwan has at least three months of oil stockpiled, and it is turning on some of its coal-fired plants, 40% of which are typically idle, and buying coal from Indonesia and Australia.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
Meanwhile, the two U.S. battery plants GM spent billions of dollars to build are idle, unable to make the cheaper batteries that the automaker needs for the $30,000 vehicle.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
They want someone who is fair and willing to do his share of the work, not sit idle giving orders.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
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.
