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.
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
Last week, one of these editors compiled a supplement called Shells—a critique of college architecture in the U. S. Posing as a "Loafer," he pondered the causes and meanings behind university structures.
From Time Magazine Archive
If on some mad night the last sea heaves us down, and the Loafer is found on some wind-swept beach, that will be as good an end as a burnt-out, careless being can ask.
From The Chequers Being the Natural History of a Public-House, Set Forth in a Loafer's Diary by Runciman, James
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.
