Showing results for "idler"

• comparative of idle.

idler

American  

[ahyd-ler] / ˈaɪd lər /

noun

• idlers
  plural

1. a person who passes time in a lazy or unproductive way.

2. Machinery. an idle gear, wheel, or pulley.

3. Railroads. an empty freight car placed under the projecting end of a long object carried by the next car, so that the latter can be connected with another part of the train.

4. Nautical. day man.

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idler British  

/ ˈaɪdlə /

noun

1. a person who idles

2. another name for idle pulley idle wheel

3. nautical a ship's crew member, such as a carpenter, sailmaker, etc, whose duties do not include standing regular watches

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• idlers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of idler

First recorded in 1525–35; idle + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

idler idlers

There is an almost continuous succession of scenes in which Nicholson sketches this idler, lover, jokester, manipulator, con man, gambler, loner.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2023

Oh, that would be the uncle who willed his farm and estate to Onegin, a charming idler.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 9, 2020

What’s missing is a palpable grit, particularly in Whitted’s performance, that would help us to a belief in Hal’s head-spinning pivot from idler and carouser to beloved hero of the realm.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 10, 2019

Only time will tell which version of Sissoko Tottenham have got: the often sullen idler who irritated Newcastle fans or the inspirational player who so impressively raised his game in June.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 9, 2016

Imagining nothing idler than words in the face of grave events, he condoles and congratulates with the genteelest air in the world.

From Modern Essays by Harry Morgan Ayres

During a BBC leadership debate, she was challenged about a comment in Britannia Unchained, describing British workers as "among the worst idlers in the world".

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2022

Callers have denounced them as idlers and traitors, or as taking sides in the conflict.

From New York Times ● Aug. 23, 2022

There are few schools for idlers or households for the lazy.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 3, 2018

Contrary to predictions by slavery’s defenders, the liberated slaves did not become idlers, but divided their time between continued plantation work and cultivating individual plots the army assigned them.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

They were surrounded by the usual crowd of idlers and passersby.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare