Search results
- Dictionaryi·dle/ˈīd(ə)l/
adjective
- 1. (of a person) avoiding work; lazy: "idle students" Similar Opposite
- 2. without purpose or effect; pointless: "he did not want to waste valuable time in idle chatter" Similar Opposite
verb
- 1. spend time doing nothing: "four men were idling outside the shop" Similar
- 2. (of an engine) run slowly while disconnected from a load or out of gear: "the car is noisily idling in the street" Similar
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
The meaning of IDLE is not occupied or employed. How to use idle in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Idle.
IDLE definition: 1. not working or being used: 2. An idle moment or period of time is one in which there is no work…. Learn more.
Something idle is not active. If your car is idling, it's running but not moving. If someone calls you idle, it either means they think you don't have enough to do or that you're just plain lazy.
idle, indolent, lazy, slothful apply to a person who is not active. To be idle is to be inactive or not working at a job. The word is sometimes derogatory, but not always, since one may be relaxing temporarily or may be idle through necessity: pleasantly idle on a vacation; to be idle because one is unemployed or because supplies are lacking.
1. To pass time without being engaged in purposeful activity: "The girls idled all day long, sending their tinkling laughter flowing up and down the street" (Alai). 2. To move slowly or without purpose: "I drove past the workshop ... I idled along the driveway past the pole fence ... to Tyhee Road" (Tom Spanbauer). 3.
IDLE meaning: 1 : not working, active, or being used; 2 : not having any real purpose or value
[usually before noun] with no particular purpose or effect. idle chatter/curiosity. It was just an idle threat (= not serious). It is idle to pretend that their marriage is a success. [usually before noun] (of time) not spent doing work or something particular. In idle moments, he carved wooden figures. Word Origin. Idioms.
IDLE definition: 1. not working or being used: 2. not serious or having no real purpose: 3. lazy and not willing…. Learn more.
[usually before noun] (of time) not spent doing work or something particular In idle moments, he carved wooden figures. idleness. noun [uncountable] After a period of enforced idleness, she found a new job. Idioms. the devil makes work for idle hands (saying)
To be idle is to be inactive or not working at a job. The word is sometimes derogatory, but not always, since one may be relaxing temporarily or may be idle through necessity: pleasantly idle on a vacation; to be idle because one is unemployed or because supplies are lacking.
