slacker

American  

[slak-er] / ˈslæk ər /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of slacker

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

Example Sentences

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

Generation X was known as the “slacker generation,” even though, arguably, they worked as hard as everyone else.

From MarketWatch

Ellis, meanwhile, has a nearly 14-year-old son who is in what she calls a “teenage, hormonal place” — not that dissimilar to Emily, who has three slacker teenagers obsessed with video games.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Barnoff says Nathaniel was a bit of a slacker when he was in junior high and taking lessons at the Cleveland Music School Settlement.

From Los Angeles Times