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layabout

[ ley-uh-bout ]
/ ˈleɪ əˌbaʊt /
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR layabout ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Chiefly British.

a lazy or idle person; loafer.

RELATED WORDS

waster, wanderer, wastrel, malingerer, slouch, lazybones, good-for-nothing, loafer, idler, deadbeat, do-nothing, slacker, sluggard, shirker, beachcomber, lounger, goof-off, sponger, slugabed

Nearby words

  1. lay up,
  2. lay vicar,
  3. lay waste,
  4. lay-by,
  5. lay-up,
  6. layamon,
  7. layard,
  8. layard, sir austen henry,
  9. layaway,
  10. layaway plan

Origin of layabout

1930–35; noun use of verb phrase lay about, nonstandard variant of lie about
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for layabout

layabout

/ (ˈleɪəˌbaʊt) /

noun

a lazy person; loafer

verb lay about

(preposition, usually intr or reflexive) old-fashioned to hit out with violent and repeated blows in all directions
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

Word Origin and History for layabout

layabout

n.

"habitual loafer," 1932, from lay (v.) + about. One who "lays about" the house, etc.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper