laze
Americanverb (used without object)
-
lazes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lazed,
past participle, past
-
lazing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
lazes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lazed,
past participle, past
-
lazing
present participle
noun
verb
-
(intr) to be indolent or lazy
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to spend (time) in indolence
noun
Synonym Usage
See lounge.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lazesimple
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lazessimple
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have lazedperfect
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has lazedperfect
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am lazingprogressive
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are lazingprogressive
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is lazingprogressive
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have been lazingperfect progressive
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has been lazingperfect progressive
Past
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lazedsimple
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had lazedperfect
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was lazingprogressive
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were lazingprogressive
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had been lazingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of laze
First recorded in 1585–95; back formation from lazy
Explanation
To laze is to be very relaxed. On a hot summer weekend morning, you might want to laze on the beach or in a hammock with a book. When you laze, you lounge around, not working or really doing much of anything: you're being luxuriously lazy. If your friend asks what you plan to do during a school holiday, you might reply, "I'm just going to laze around all week." Laze came from lazy, originally laysy, and meaning "averse to work." Its origin is a mystery, though some experts think it's related to lay.
Vocabulary lists containing laze
James and the Giant Peach
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"A Village After Dark" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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"Be-ers and Doers" and "My Moment of Truth"
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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.
See Examples For:
Jay makes scrambled eggs and bagels for us, then we talk about what’s going to happen that day, and laze around until lunchtime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026
Now 16, Pebbles does not tend to go after the wildlife so much, preferring to laze around campus waiting to be fed by staff.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2024
I want to teach him how to laze in the grass and watch the clouds without any artificially imposed sense of urgency.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2022
No one was seriously hurt in that laze either.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2021
“To spend time in nature, and not laze about indoors when the weather is fair,” she said.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
He peeks down from behind half-moon spectacles in one shot, strums a guitar in the next and lazes alongside an illustrated frog in a field of flowers and mushrooms in another.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2022
The trail ends unceremoniously at an asphalt road, across which the Colorado River lazes by, along the path of least resistance, unbothered by whatever obstacles rise in its path.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 4, 2021
She works long hours, parties or lazes in her down time, and tries not to think about her mother's recent death.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2021
He sleeps in the bathtub and lazes about.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 21, 2018
A minute later, he lazes across the classroom in his robe toward the door—he moves like glue.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
A couple of hundred bison lazed on the flat, close enough for us to study, alert to our presence, wild enough to muster a few snorts, but mostly unbothered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Baby seals lazed alongside their mothers on the rocks, too sleepy to be bothered by a boat quietly chuffing by.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023
Edebiri’s small dog, a Chihuahua mix named Gromit, lazed between them on a couch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
Rushees lazed about, trying their best to appear nonchalant and indifferent to the outcome of their social futures.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2023
Could I get used to this? thought Arm as he lazed on a sofa with his long arms resting along the top.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
He previously suffered a leg injury that left him with a limp and has apparently adapted his lifestyle, preferring to spend his time lazing on a rock, rather than fighting with fellow bears.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
I went for a late walk to the beach and stayed there for much longer than I anticipated, lazing on the sand and floating in the water.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2023
It’s also easy to carry and intuitive to set up, so you can focus on what’s most important: lazing and lounging.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
Archimedes was lazing in the bath when inspiration struck and Newton's apple - quite literally - fell upon a daydreaming head.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2022
The siblings spent the afternoon there, lazing around the tree, until the robot marched past carrying the big, heavy toolbox.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
