idler
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Related to idler: idler pulley, Idler arm
i·dle
(īd′l)adj. i·dler, i·dlest
1.
a. Not employed or busy: idle carpenters. See Synonyms at inactive.
b. Disinclined to work or be active; lazy: "a man who could seem idle, ignorant, even incompetent, yet was able to understand and to express ... the instincts, good and bad, of the American majority" (Godfrey Hodgson).
c. Not in use or operation: idle hands; idle mills.
d. Sports Not scheduled to play a game: Both teams played today but will be idle tomorrow.
2. Being a period of time in which there is little or no activity: passed idle hours watching TV.
v. i·dled, i·dling, i·dles
v.intr.
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. To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor or motor vehicle.
v.tr.
1. To pass (time) without doing anything: idle the afternoon away.
2. To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive: layoffs that idled 1,000 factory workers; a plant that was idled by a strike.
3. To cause (a motor, for example) to idle.
n.
1. A state of idling. Used of a motor vehicle: an engine running quietly at idle.
2. A mechanism for regulating the speed at which an engine runs at rest: set the idle higher to keep the motor from stalling.
[Middle English idel, from Old English īdel.]
i′dle·ness n.
i′dler (īd′lər) n.
i′dly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
idler
(ˈaɪdlə)n
1. a person who idles
2. (General Engineering) another name for idle pulley, idle wheel
3. (Nautical Terms) nautical a ship's crew member, such as a carpenter, sailmaker, etc, whose duties do not include standing regular watches
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Noun | 1. | ![]() nonworker - a person who does nothing clock watcher - a worker preoccupied with the arrival of quitting time couch potato - an idler who spends much time on a couch (usually watching television) dawdler, laggard, lagger, trailer, poke, drone - someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind daydreamer, woolgatherer - someone who indulges in idle or absentminded daydreaming good-for-naught, good-for-nothing, goof-off, ne'er-do-well, no-account, goldbrick - an idle worthless person lazybones - a lazy person loon - a worthless lazy fellow shirker, slacker - a person who shirks his work or duty (especially one who tries to evade military service in wartime) spiv - a person without employment who makes money by various dubious schemes; goes about smartly dressed and having a good time sunbather - someone who basks in the sunshine in order to get a suntan trifler - one who behaves lightly or not seriously whittler - someone who whittles (usually as an idle pastime) |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
idler
noun loafer, lounger, piker (Austral. & N.Z. slang), drone, dodger, slouch (informal), shirker, slacker, couch potato (slang), sloth, dawdler, laggard, time-waster, layabout, deadbeat (informal, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), skiver (Brit. slang), malingerer, sluggard, bludger (Austral. & N.Z. informal), clock-watcher, slugabed, lazybones He resents being seen as a moneyed idler.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
idler
nounThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
كَسول
lenoch
dovenlas
letingi, iîjuleysingi
idler
[ˈaɪdləʳ] N → ocioso/a m/f, holgazán/ana m/f, vago/a m/fCollins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
idler
n
(Brit: = person not working) → Müßiggänger(in) m(f); (= lazy person) → Faulenzer(in) m(f), → Faulpelz m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
idler
[ˈaɪdləʳ] n → fannullone/a, sfaccendato/aCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
idle
(ˈaidl) adjective1. not working; not in use. ships lying idle in the harbour.
2. lazy. He has work to do, but he's idle and just sits around.
3. having no effect or result. idle threats.
4. unnecessary; without good reason or foundation. idle fears; idle gossip.
verb1. to be idle or do nothing. On holiday they just idled from morning till night.
2. of an engine etc, to run gently without doing any work. They kept the car engine idling while they checked their position with the map.
ˈidler noun a lazy person.
ˈidleness nounˈidly adverb
idle away
to spend (time) doing nothing. idling the hours away.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.