- present participle of loiter.
loitering
Americannoun
-
the act of lingering aimlessly or as if aimlessly in or about a place.
A cluster of teens gathered in front of the plaza were charged with violating a city bylaw against loitering.
-
the act of moving in a slow, idle manner, with purposeless stops.
His celebration of loitering as the best form of travel will resonate with anyone who has ever dared toss away a tourist map.
-
the act of wasting time or dawdling over work.
As film director Jean Renoir notes, “The foundation of all civilization is loitering” because it gives time for creative thinking.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of loitering
First recorded in 1350–1400; loiter ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun senses; loiter ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective sense
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.
“For privacy purposes, they’re not flying just in the sky and loitering, they’re responding at the onset of a call, usually through 9-1-1,” Warner said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
The farmer has attempted to deter people from loitering by spreading cattle slurry near the worst affected spots.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Over the past week, the ship broadcast that it was loitering off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to maritime-data firm Kpler.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
AeroVironment’s Switchblade guidable, loitering munitions came to prominence in the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
And it wasn’t because people were loitering in the hallway at lunch either.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
