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:
“Great Writers” paints portraits of the mewling kittens, dexterous mousers and lazy lap cats who happen to have witnessed the birth of some of humanity’s favorite texts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
This is a necessary intervention: according to Savage, many DJs have gotten lazy, and electronic dance music is a boys club that’s difficult for trans and cisgender women to break into.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Even the brief imitation of Lennon’s “losing control” scream is laser-precise, meant to boost the song’s momentum and carry it through a cheery and lazy surf solo.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 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
The park extended into flume rides, wave pools, and a lazy river.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
What concerns him isn’t the tool itself so much as what it could let a lazier version of himself get away with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
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
A lazier filmmaker might merely have put them back together to play their greatest hits.
From New York Times ● Jul. 7, 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
“Everybody’s used to seeing grizzlies on TV catching salmon out of the air at the top of some waterfall, but black bears are one of the laziest animals on the planet,” he explains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2025
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
Take it from the laziest cook: Life is hard, I do not seek out other difficult things.
From New York Times ● May 13, 2023
Her companions were the lazier of the Old Sarum boys, the laziest of whom was one Albert Coningham, a slow thinker to whom Jean Louise had rendered invaluable service during six-weeks’ tests.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
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
So we lazied the fine days away, while our sea harness lay stiffening in the dark lockers.
From The Brassbounder A Tale of the Sea by David W. Bone
The two went down the road together, the Paymaster a little wearied with his years and weight or lazied by his own drams, leaning in the least degree upon the shoulder of the boy.
From Gilian The Dreamer His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Neil Munro
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
Hot summer weekends he is apt to be lazying beside Marian Anderson's Connecticut swimming pool.
From Time Magazine Archive
Billy came back and lay beside her, lazying in the sea-cool sunshine, and together they watched the sun sink into the horizon where the ocean was deepest peacock-blue.
From The Valley of the Moon by Jack London
His head felt heavy and kind of funny, but he didn't think that lazying around on the pier would be harmful.
From A Son of the City A Story of Boy Life by Herman Gastrell Seely
Oddly, there was always some aircraft lazying about overhead by the time they were out of the gate.
From The Invaders by Murray Leinster
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
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