loafer
noun
a person who loafs; lazy person; idler.
loafer
1 American
[loh-fer]
/ ˈloʊ fər /
noun
-
loafers
plural
Loafer
2
American
[loh-fer]
/ ˈloʊ fər /
Trademark.
loafer
British
/ ˈləʊfə /
noun
-
a person who avoids work; idler
-
a moccasin-like shoe for casual wear
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of loafer
1820–30, perhaps short for *landloafer vagabond; compare German (obsolete) Landläufer, Dutch landloper; see landloper
Explanation
If you're a loafer, you avoid working whenever possible, preferring to lounge around relaxing instead. And, if you're too lazy to tie your own shoes, you may prefer to wear loafers — slip-on shoes without laces. If you're a loafer at work, your co-workers will grow to resent you for doing nothing while they do their jobs. Loafers like to loaf, or "spend time in an idle, aimless way." People will call you a loafer if you spend most of your time in a reclining position, take frequent breaks for snacks and naps, or obviously avoid anything resembling hard work. This noun has been in use since the mid-1800s, but its origin isn't clear. The shoe called a loafer got its name because it's easily slipped on, without the work of laces and knots.
Vocabulary lists containing loafer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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The Crossover
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The Life I'm In
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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:
The soap-bubble fantasy of Ms. Lemann’s New Orleans rather calls to mind the Hundred Acre Wood, if Christopher Robin were a gentle, dissipated loafer in a wrinkled seersucker suit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
“She’s a loafer for life now,” Kelce confirmed.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2025
The clown-toed Martine Rose loafer heels that I got on mega-sale on Farfetch and represent all my alt-kid dreams come true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025
The song is the unhurried portrait of a loafer on his front porch, watching tourists sunbathe while a pot of shrimp is beginning to boil.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2023
As soon as he was clear of the Customs booth, however, he stomped a tasseled loafer down on the accelerator and the squealing Cadillac rocketed away.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Campo Loafer is the ultimate in cool with its curved kitten heel and bulky asymmetrical silhouette.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024
The fire broke out on the top floor of the Loafer Lodge in the Wellington neighbourhood of Newtown just after midnight on Tuesday.
From Reuters ● May 15, 2023
From the great Loafer, a film by Madras film-maker A Bhimsingh.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 14, 2011
An insistent young man, Loafer concluded by declaring that "the monotony of the educational process"—that is, lectures-"makes the very buildings in which they take place inane, anonymous."
From Time Magazine Archive
Loafer in telegraph office informs us of the battle today resulting in defeat of White Guards, the volunteers of Pinega who were supporting the hundred Americans.
From The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki Campaigning in North Russia 1918-1919 by Lewis E. Jahns
She wore a long skirt from Aritzia, a collared blue tank, a belt and loafers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The illicit purchases also included games consoles, a £100 chopstick set, £100 men's loafers and £2.50 hand cream.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Over many decades, the queen in her public appearances maintained a silhouette of practicality over trend, usually a structured jacket and matching hat, along with Anello & Davide calf leather loafers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
It reminds me of when I went to Catholic school and you’d go shopping for school clothes at the Bass outlet and they’d have walls and walls of penny loafers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
It’s a complete relief, like walking into my home and kicking off my loafers and sinking into the soft sofa after a very long and hot and tiring day.
From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender
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.
