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idle

 - 3 dictionary results
Idle
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i⋅dle

  [ahyd-l] adjective, i⋅dler, i⋅dlest, verb i⋅dled, i⋅dling, noun
Use idle in a Sentence
–adjective
1. not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing: idle workers.
2. not spent or filled with activity: idle hours.
3. not in use or operation; not kept busy: idle machinery.
4. habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.
5. of no real worth, importance, or significance: idle talk.
6. having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless: idle fears.
7. frivolous; vain: idle pleasures.
8. meaningless; senseless: idle threats.
9. futile; unavailing: idle rage.
–verb (used without object)
10. to pass time doing nothing.
11. to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly: to idle along the avenue.
12. (of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.
–verb (used with object)
13. to pass (time) doing nothing (often fol. by away): to idle away the afternoon.
14. to cause (a person) to be idle: The strike idled many workers.
15. to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle: I waited in the car while idling the engine.
–noun
16. the state or quality of being idle.
17. the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling: a cold engine that stalls at idle.
Origin:
bef. 900; 1915–20 for def. 12; ME, OE īdel (adj.) empty, trifling, vain, useless; c. G eitel

Related forms:
i⋅dle⋅ness, noun
idly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. sluggish. 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. The indolent person is naturally disposed to avoid exertion: indolent and slow in movement; an indolent and contented fisherman. The lazy person is averse to exertion or work, and esp. to continued application; the word is usually derogatory: too lazy to earn a living; incurably lazy. Slothful denotes a reprehensible unwillingness to carry one's share of the burden: so slothful as to be a burden on others. 5. worthless, trivial, trifling. 7. wasteful. 11. See loiter. 13. waste.

Antonyms:
1. busy, industrious. 5. important, worthwhile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Idle
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i·dle   (īd'l)   
adj.   i·dler, i·dlest

    1. Not employed or busy: idle carpenters. See Synonyms at inactive.

    2. Avoiding work or employment; lazy: shiftless, idle youth. See Synonyms at lazy.

    3. Not in use or operation: idle hands.

  2. Lacking substance, value, or basis. See Synonyms at baseless, vain.

v.   i·dled, i·dling, i·dles

v.   intr.

  1. To pass time without working or while avoiding work.

  2. To move lazily and without purpose.

  3. To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor vehicle.

v.   tr.

  1. To pass (time) without working or while avoiding work; waste: idle the afternoon away.

  2. To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive.

  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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

idle 
O.E. idel "empty, void, useless," common W.Gmc. (cf. O.S. idal, O.Fris. idel "empty, worthless," O.Du. idil, Ger. eitel "vain, useless, mere, pure"), of unknown origin. Idle threats preserves original sense; meaning "lazy" is c.1300. The verb sense of "running slowly and steadily without transmitting power" (as a motor) first recorded 1916.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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