idle

1 of 2

adjective

idler ˈī-dᵊl-ər How to pronounce idle (audio)
ˈīd-lər
; idlest ˈī-dᵊl-əst How to pronounce idle (audio)
ˈīd-ləst
1
: not occupied or employed: such as
a
: having no employment : inactive
idle workers
b
: not turned to normal or appropriate use
idle farmland
c
: not scheduled to compete
the team will be idle tomorrow
2
: lacking worth or basis : vain
idle chatter
idle pleasure
3
b
: having no evident lawful means of support
idleness noun

idle

2 of 2

verb

idled; idling ˈī-dᵊl-iŋ How to pronounce idle (audio)
ˈīd-liŋ

intransitive verb

1
: to run at low power and often disconnected usually so that power is not used for useful work
the engine is idling
2
a
: to spend time in idleness
b
: to move idly

transitive verb

1
: to pass in idleness
2
: to cause to idle
3
: to make idle
workers idled by a strike
Choose the Right Synonym for idle

Adjective

vain, nugatory, otiose, idle, empty, hollow mean being without worth or significance.

vain implies either absolute or relative absence of value.

vain promises

nugatory suggests triviality or insignificance.

a monarch with nugatory powers

otiose suggests that something serves no purpose and is either an encumbrance or a superfluity.

a film without a single otiose scene

idle suggests being incapable of worthwhile use or effect.

idle speculations

empty and hollow suggest a deceiving lack of real substance or soundness or genuineness.

an empty attempt at reconciliation
a hollow victory

inactive, idle, inert, passive, supine mean not engaged in work or activity.

inactive applies to anyone or anything not in action or in operation or at work.

on inactive status as an astronaut
inactive accounts

idle applies to persons that are not busy or occupied or to their powers or their implements.

workers were idle in the fields

inert as applied to things implies powerlessness to move or to affect other things; as applied to persons it suggests an inherent or habitual indisposition to activity.

inert ingredients in drugs
an inert citizenry

passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.

passive resistance

supine applies only to persons and commonly implies abjectness or indolence.

a supine willingness to play the fool

Verb

idle, loaf, lounge, loll, laze mean to spend time doing nothing.

idle may be used in reference to persons that move lazily or without purpose.

idled the day away

loaf suggests either resting or wandering about as though there were nothing to do.

she does her work and then loafs the rest of the day

lounge, though occasionally used as equal to idle or loaf, typically conveys an additional implication of resting or reclining against a support or of physical comfort and ease in relaxation.

he lounged against the wall

loll also carries an implication of a posture similar to that of lounge, but places greater stress upon an indolent or relaxed attitude.

lolling on the couch

laze usually implies the relaxation of a busy person enjoying a vacation or moments of leisure.

lazed about between appointments

Examples of idle in a Sentence

Adjective There has been a lot of idle speculation about what might happen, but no one really knows. the idle days of summer Verb She left the engine idling for a few seconds before she turned it off. The cars idled in traffic. A group of boys idled in the doorway. The factory closed, idling several hundred workers. Thousands of workers have been idled by the bad economy. The factory has been idled by the strike.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Capable of displaying museum-like wall art when idle, Samsung’s Frame TV is easily one of a kind. Sheena Vasani, The Verge, 23 Feb. 2024 Implemented a functionality that will kick players who remain idle for 15 minutes back to the title screen. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 Don’t sit idle or let anyone step in and take over. Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2024 Cirillo, in turn, said Hostess chose Arkadelphia for its easy interstate and railway access, supply of skilled workers and the idle factory site. Aaron Gettinger, arkansasonline.com, 27 Jan. 2024 The watchdog issued the penalty over systems that tracked the idle time of workers’ scanners and measured the speed of scanning. David Meyer, Fortune, 23 Jan. 2024 Despite being idle, the 49ers went to +175 from +220, and the Ravens improved to +270 from +295. Elizabeth Flores, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024 The victory raised Wisconsin’s record to 18-4 and with a 10-2 Big Ten mark (30 points) allowed the team to extend its conference lead to five points over idle Michigan State. Journal Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2024 The cast of Yellowstone was hardly idle during the show’s prolonged hiatus. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 6 Feb. 2024
Verb
That’s because police vehicles spend an inordinate amount of time idling, and the hybrid can maintain climate control and without running the engine, releasing emissions and using expensive gasoline. Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024 Most of those American mines were idled in the aftermath of Fukushima, when uranium prices crashed and countries like Germany and Japan initiated plans to phase out nuclear reactors. Jacob Lorinc, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2024 And Paradise had computing power to spare, so in recent years, human and AI designers across the solar system had been idled as Paradise replaced their function. Karl Schroeder, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Feb. 2024 An idling car uses only one gallon of gas per hour. John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Jan. 2024 An Amber Alert buzzed phones across Los Angeles and Orange counties Tuesday night for an abducted 4-year-old boy, who was in the back seat of his parents’ idling car when someone stole it and sped away, Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Alyssa Baeza said. Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024 Meanwhile, Tom Hollander’s Truman Capote sits in an idling cab outside. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2024 The coffee chain’s employees will take orders and prepare drinks from inside the cozy space, handing them off to drivers idling outside. Brock Keeling, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024 The earthquake has also cast doubt over Japan’s push to restart nuclear plants that have been idled. Reuters, NBC News, 5 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'idle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English idel, from Old English īdel; akin to Old High German ītal worthless

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of idle was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near idle

Cite this Entry

“Idle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idle. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

idle

1 of 2 adjective
idler ˈīd-lər How to pronounce idle (audio)
-ᵊl-ər
; idlest ˈīd-ləst How to pronounce idle (audio)
-ᵊl-əst
1
: having no worth or basis
idle rumors
idle chatter
2
: not being used or employed
idle workers
idle factories
idle hours
3
idleness noun
idly
ˈīd-lē How to pronounce idle (audio)
-ᵊl-ē
adverb

idle

2 of 2 verb
idled; idling ˈīd-liŋ How to pronounce idle (audio)
-ᵊl-iŋ
1
: to spend time doing nothing
2
: to run without being connected for doing useful work
left the engine idling
idler
ˈīd-lər How to pronounce idle (audio)
-ᵊl-ər
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on idle

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