Showing results for "slacker"

• comparative of slack.

slacker

American  

[slak-er] / ˈslæk ər /

noun

• slackers
  plural

1. a person who evades their duty or work; shirker.

   Synonyms:

   laggard, dodger, malingerer

2. an especially educated young person who is antimaterialistic, purposeless, apathetic, and usually works in a dead-end job.

3. a person who evades military service.

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slacker British  

/ ˈslækə /

noun

1. a person who evades work or duty; shirker

2. informal

   1. an educated young adult characterized by cynicism and apathy

   2. ( as modifier )

      slacker culture

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• slackers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of slacker

First recorded in 1790–1800; slack ¹ ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. ); slacker def. 2 popularized by the film Slackers (1991)

Explanation

A slacker is someone who can't be relied on to do a job or finish a project. If you're looking for the slacker in your family, you'll probably find him on the couch. Nobody wants a slacker on their soccer team. Slackers avoid effort of any kind, putting work off or getting someone else to do it for them. While slacker is commonly thought of as a word from the 1990s — there was even a movie called Slackers made in 1991 — it's actually been around since at least the late 1800s. In the early 20th century, Sudanese workers protested their lack of voice and power by slacking, or working very slowly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slacker slackers

The prototypical Gen Xer is resilient and cynical, a “latchkey kid” turned disaffected slacker, raised on MTV and limited parental supervision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

That realisation manifests in the lovestruck slacker rock of Dragonfly, and the finger-plucked Neptune Baby, with its refrain, "I'm a boat, and you are the water".

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2025

Some of the plot is just unnecessary padding, like Daniel’s girlfriend troubles and slacker mentality, spiking in an odd scene where he hysterically bemoans his own uselessness.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

At worst, he was a slacker who didn’t like to write tickets and dodged radio calls.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024

My dad looks at me from head to toe, and I feel like the second-rate slacker he’s always taken me for.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

From their ranks, we’ve chosen the 101 L.A.-set movies that best represent this city and its inhabitants: actors, scamps, cops, crooks, singers, strivers, slackers and even cyborgs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026

These are the people cranking up productivity, impressing managers and making the rest of us look like slackers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

Now you've made the rest of us, except maybe Beyoncé, feel like real slackers.

From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2023

By contrast, as we jump back in time, her sons come off as a pair of nihilistic slackers.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2022

"To-morrow we’ll be in Udine. We'll drink champagne. That’s where the slackers live. Wake up, Piani! We’ll drink champagne to-morrow in Udine!"

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway