Noun
- 1. idle, operation
- usage: the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling; "the car engine was running at idle"
Verb
- 1. idle, tick over
- usage: run disconnected or idle; "the engine is idling"
- 2. idle, laze, slug, stagnate
- usage: be idle; exist in a changeless situation; "The old man sat and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all morning"
Adjective
- 1. idle (vs. busy), bone-idle, bone-lazy, faineant, indolent, lazy, otiose, slothful, work-shy, lackadaisical, leisured, unengaged, ineffective#1, uneffective#1, ineffectual, unemployed
- usage: not in action or at work; "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind"
- 2. baseless, groundless, idle, unfounded, unwarranted, wild, unsupported (vs. supported)
- usage: without a basis in reason or fact; "baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy"
- 3. idle, unused, inactive (vs. active)
- usage: not in active use; "the machinery sat idle during the strike"; "idle hands"
- 4. idle, light, frivolous (vs. serious)
- usage: silly or trivial; "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter"
- 5. idle, loose, irresponsible (vs. responsible)
- usage: lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; "idle talk"; "a loose tongue"
- 6. dead, idle, unprofitable (vs. profitable)
- usage: not yielding a return; "dead capital"; "idle funds"
- 7. idle, jobless, out of work, unemployed (vs. employed)
- usage: not having a job; "idle carpenters"; "jobless transients"; "many people in the area were out of work"
WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University.
All rights reserved.Definition and meaning of idle (Dictionary)