idle
not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing: idle workers.
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.
having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless: idle fears.
frivolous; vain: idle pleasures.
meaningless; senseless: idle threats.
futile; unavailing: idle rage.
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.
to pass (time) doing nothing (often followed by away): to idle away the afternoon.
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.
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.
Origin of idle
1synonym study For idle
word story For idle
One of the senses of the verb idle, “to spend one’s time doing nothing,” dates from the 17th century and is first recorded in Samuel Pepys’ Diary.
The mechanical sense, used of a motor or engine disengaged from its load and operating at a low speed, dates from the 20th century.
Other words for idle
Opposites for idle
Other words from idle
- i·dle·ness, noun
- i·dly, adverb
- o·ver·i·dle, adjective
- o·ver·i·dle·ness, noun
- un·i·dle, adjective
- un·i·dling, adjective
Words that may be confused with idle
Words Nearby idle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use idle in a sentence
In fact, it's getting so bad that a number of OEMs, including Ford and General Motors, have had to go as far as idling shifts and even entire factories.
A silicon chip shortage is causing automakers to idle their factories | Jonathan M. Gitlin | February 4, 2021 | Ars TechnicaVirginia officials said they are temporarily pausing deactivation of idle E-ZPass accounts amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Virginia pauses deactivation of idle E-ZPass accounts amid pandemic | Justin Wm. Moyer | February 3, 2021 | Washington PostThey have been both overstretched in some departments, and rendered idle in others, and although in some cases they have seen increases in patient volume due to coronavirus outbreaks, they have by and large suffered significant financial losses.
Covid-19 could teach US hospitals some lessons, if they’re willing to listen | Annalisa Merelli | January 28, 2021 | QuartzOfficials hope that makeshift system will free up ambulances now sitting idle outside hospitals because their patients can’t be admitted.
Los Angeles is running out of oxygen for patients as covid hospitalizations hit record highs nationwide | Fenit Nirappil, William Wan | January 5, 2021 | Washington PostA rare exception came early in the pandemic in March, when an apparel returns warehouse was idled by order of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear after an outbreak there.
Amazon closes New Jersey warehouse after spike in COVID-19 cases | Rachel King | December 21, 2020 | Fortune
And in the summer, when the lift is idle, it feeds juice into the local community.
Middle-aged, out-of-shape Putin sat idle and silent as his dreams and hopes for the future were destroyed.
How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Radicalized Putin | Masha Gessen | November 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAny upcoming release of a new Apple product guarantees a deafening cacophony of idle speculation from tech sites.
Amateur Stuntmen, the iPhone 6, and More Viral Videos | Jack Holmes | August 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe rest of the police looked on, sitting idle on horses in front of Starbucks.
New York Solidarity as Michael Brown Protests Go National | Gideon Resnick | August 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe idle rich had driven down from Biarritz with their uniformed chauffeurs.
It's an idle question, I know; wise men and musty philosophers say that regrets are foolish.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairHe worketh under correction, and seeketh to rest: let his hands be idle, and he seeketh liberty.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousThere was a deep silence throughout the whole bivouac; some were sleeping, and those who watched were in no humour for idle chat.
While the fortress was undermining at home, they were not idle, who were preparing to storm it from abroad.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterThe lower class were idle and lazy, and willing to serve any sovereign who appealed to them by ostentation.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
British Dictionary definitions for idle
/ (ˈaɪdəl) /
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
(when tr, often foll by away) 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
(intr) (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged: Also (Brit): tick over
(tr) US and Canadian to cause to be inactive or unemployed
Origin of idle
1Derived forms of idle
- idleness, noun
- idly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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