woolgathering

[wool-gath-er-ing]

noun

1. indulgence in idle fancies and in daydreaming; absentmindedness.

   His woolgathering was a handicap in school.

2. gathering gather of the tufts of wool shed by sheep and caught on bushes.

woolgathering

/ ˈwʊlˌɡæðərɪŋ /

noun

1. idle or absent-minded indulgence in fantasy; daydreaming

Other Word Forms

• woolgatherer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of woolgathering¹

First recorded in 1545–55; wool + gathering

Example Sentences

The train lurched over a patch of rough tracks, jarring me out of my woolgathering.

Read more on Literature

But such are the longueurs of this would-be slam-bang blockbuster directed by Robert Schwentke, that it sure does inspire woolgathering.

Read more on New York Times

I listened to their woolgathering for a while, and then some artillery rumbled in the distance.

Read more on New York Times

Chronic lateness is a personality characteristic just as much as smiling or shyness or empathy or mothering or woolgathering, to name a few of the more benign.

Read more on Seattle Times

Most people spend between 30 and 47 percent of their waking hours spacing out, drifting off, lost in thought, woolgathering, in a brown study or building castles in the air.

Read more on Scientific American

Related Words

• absorbed 
• bemused 
• distracted 
• engaged 
• engrossed 
• fascinated 
• forgetful 
• obsessed