layabout

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

noun Chiefly British.

a lazy or idle person; loafer.

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DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of layabout

1930–35; noun use of verb phrase lay about, nonstandard variant of lie about

Words nearby layabout

lay up, lay vicar, lay waste, lay-by, lay-up, layabout, layamon, layard, layaway, layaway plan, layback
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to layabout

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

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