loafer

[ loh-fer ]
See synonyms for loafer on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who loafs; lazy person; idler.

Origin of loafer

1
1820–30, Americanism; perhaps short for *landloafer vagabond; compare German (obsolete) Landläufer,Dutch landloper;see landloper

Other words from loafer

  • loaf·er·ish, adjective

Words Nearby loafer

Other definitions for Loafer (2 of 2)

Loafer
[ loh-fer ]

Trademark.
  1. a brand name for a moccasinlike slip-on shoe.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use loafer in a sentence

  • He was unhurt, but he moved with shuffling steps, much like a tavern-loafer soggy from rum.

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • "Some lazy loafer reading a penny dreadful," I thought, glancing at him, then at the title of his book.

    In Search of the Unknown | Robert W. Chambers
  • Down here with a lump of rabbit's brains, you abominable little loafer.

    Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton Mackenzie
  • But how could he get work—he, a mere street loafer, and as lonely in London as if it had been a desert.

    The Life of Thomas Wanless, Peasant | Alexander Johnstone Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for loafer

loafer

/ (ˈləʊfə) /


noun
  1. a person who avoids work; idler

  2. a moccasin-like shoe for casual wear

Origin of loafer

1
C19: perhaps from German Landläufer vagabond

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