lazy
Americanadjective
-
lazier,
comparative
-
laziest
superlative
-
tending to avoid work, activity, or exertion.
She was too lazy to take out the trash, so it just continued to pile up.
- Synonyms:
- slothful
- Antonyms:
- industrious
-
causing or characterized by idleness or inactivity.
It was a hot, lazy afternoon.
I’m having a lazy day today, just lounging and watching movies.
-
slow-moving; sluggish.
a lazy stream.
- Antonyms:
- quick
-
Computers. of or relating to an operator or quantifier in a search query that will return the smallest match result possible.
-
(of a livestock brand) placed on its side instead of upright.
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
not inclined to work or exertion
-
conducive to or causing indolence
-
moving in a languid or sluggish manner
a lazy river
-
(of a brand letter or mark on livestock) shown as lying on its side
Synonym Usage
See idle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lazy
First recorded in 1540–50; compare Low German lasich “languid, idle”
Explanation
While lazy actually means being averse to work or avoiding it, it can also be used to describe something slow-moving or unenergetic, like when you stroll down the garden path with a lazy gait, not in a hurry to get anywhere. The adjective lazy is thought to come from the Low German lasich, meaning "idle or languid." You were offended at being called lazy, but you just didn't have the energy to defend yourself. After all, who doesn't enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon? Former President of Poland Lech Walesa once considered the benefits of being lazy when he said, “It's the lazy people who invented the wheel and the bicycle because they didn't like walking or carrying things."
Vocabulary lists containing lazy
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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:
Some hiring managers in China told me the attitude of young job seekers is at fault, describing them as lazy, picky and weak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
For lazy reporters, or those who’ve never covered another president, Trump makes the job easy.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
One former cyber agent said FBI staff were furious about the "sloppy and lazy security failures" that allegedly enabled the breach.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
But when the government’s arguments are this lazy, it is functionally impossible for Saylor to not at least implicitly acknowledge just how bad the idea is.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
“I hope I shall have done something to be proud of by that time, but I’m such a lazy dog, I’m afraid I shall dawdle, Jo.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
We label those who outsource their work to AI as lazier and less moral, and we think they value their work less than those who don’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
A 2025 Duke University study found that professionals believed that colleagues would consider them lazier and less competent if they used A.I., making them unlikely to disclose its use.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2025
While each cameo is lazier than the last, it’s a substantial supporting role from Benny Safdie — who, alongside his brother Josh, co-directed Sandler in “Uncut Gems” — that’s most grating.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2025
Use her ajvar recipe without adjustment, or opt for my lazier route, and stash containers of lutenitsa in the freezer.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2023
“I can’t tell who is lazier, Polly or you,” Mother mut-tered as she stalked out of the room.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
While charging a $1 annual fee may discourage the laziest bot-makers, it surely won’t prevent anyone with a real incentive—financial, political, or otherwise—to manipulate the platform for their own personal gain.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2023
If he loses, they say he overthinks, the laziest word ever to be used about Guardiola's work.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2023
Adding co-op is like finishing any dish with chili oil — it’s the laziest way to make the most unimaginatively cooked proteins pretty tasty.
From The Verge ● Aug. 24, 2022
She and the news crews are all playing the same game, in the laziest and most inane manner possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2021
“For real? Jake McQuade, you are the laziest kid in the world. You know that, right?”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
So he lazied with geishas, saki, talk and chess.
From Time Magazine Archive
The New York Stock Exchange tape lazied along: about 120,000 shares an hour, 610,000 shares for the full session.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then when we had got pretty well stuffed, we laid off and lazied.
From The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Tom Sawyer's Comrade by Mark Twain
I was in the merriest humour, and lazied about the whole afternoon through the most frequented streets and looked at the people.
From Hunger by Knut Hamsun
We lazied the rest of the pleasant afternoon away, some dozing under the trees, some smoking cob-pipes and talking sweethearts and war, some playing games.
From The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories by Mark Twain
Hot summer weekends he is apt to be lazying beside Marian Anderson's Connecticut swimming pool.
From Time Magazine Archive
An ambulance driver came lazying around the corner and began to start his car.
From The Martial Adventures of Henry and Me by William Allen White
"A nice big dog lazying round here would sort of complete it."
From O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1921 by Edison Marshall
So we would put in the day, lazying around, listening to the stillness.
From The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Tom Sawyer's Comrade by Mark Twain
"And see what I've made thee while thou'st been lazying in bed—a real English ship of war."
From Harding's luck by H. R. (Harold Robert) Millar
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