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View synonyms for loiter

loiter

[ loi-ter ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place:

    to loiter around the bus terminal.

    Synonyms: loaf

  2. to move in a slow, idle manner, making purposeless stops in the course of a trip, journey, errand, etc.:

    to loiter on the way to work.

    Synonyms: tarry, delay, loaf

  3. to waste time or dawdle over work:

    He loiters over his homework until one in the morning.

    Synonyms: tarry, delay, loaf



verb (used with object)

  1. to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usually followed by away ):

    to loiter away the afternoon in daydreaming.

    Synonyms: loaf

loiter

/ ˈlɔɪtə /

verb

  1. intr to stand or act aimlessly or idly


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Derived Forms

  • ˈloiterer, noun
  • ˈloitering, nounadjective

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Other Words From

  • loi·ter·er noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of loiter1

First recorded before 1300–50; Middle English loteren, loytren, perhaps from Middle Dutch loteren “to stagger, totter”; compare Dutch leuteren “to dawdle”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of loiter1

C14: perhaps from Middle Dutch löteren to wobble: perhaps related to Old English lūtian to lurk

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Synonym Study

Loiter, dally, dawdle, idle imply moving or acting slowly, stopping for unimportant reasons, and in general wasting time. To loiter is to linger aimlessly: to loiter outside a building. To dally is to loiter indecisively or to delay as if free from care or responsibility: to dally on the way home. To dawdle is to saunter, stopping often, and taking a great deal of time, or to fritter away time working in a halfhearted way: to dawdle over a task. To idle is to move slowly and aimlessly, or to spend a great deal of time doing nothing: to idle away the hours.

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Example Sentences

Today, his berths are full and four of the ships loitering in San Pedro Bay are impatient for a spot.

Wood said in a later interview that he wished he could have told that man about all the times he’d felt profiled by police — beginning when an officer warned him as a middle-schooler about loitering as he played basketball.

On another night, that bunch of teens loitering on a street corner was our pod analyzing the use of public space with a fellow parent, an urban planner.

It was within an hour of midnight, and the weather being dark and piercing cold, he had no great temptation to loiter.

We may not loiter along the Nithdale road, rich as it is in traditions and relics of the past.

I believe that is why Jim has a definite camping place in mind for each day and doesnt let us loiter much along the way.

Much depends, however, whether the object of the cruise is to loiter about and fish, or to sail and cover the ground.

Paul, the owner, would loiter in the rear, but was always on hand when we halted for meals.

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Loisloitering