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Definitions for Idler

[1] a person who passes time in a lazy or unproductive way.
[2] Machinery . an idle gear, wheel, or pulley.
[3] Railroads . an empty freight car placed under the projecting end of a long object carried by the next car, so that the latter can be connected with another part of the train.
[4] Nautical . day man(def 2) .
[5] not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing: idle workers.
[6] not spent or filled with activity: idle hours.
[7] not in use or operation; not kept busy: idle machinery.
[8] habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.
[9] of no real worth, importance, or significance: idle talk.
[10] having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless: idle fears.
[11] frivolous; vain: idle pleasures.
[12] meaningless; senseless: idle threats.
[13] futile; unavailing: idle rage.
[14] to pass time doing nothing.
[15] to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly: to idle along the avenue.
[16] (of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.
[17] to pass (time) doing nothing (often followed by away ): to idle away the afternoon.
[18] to cause (a person) to be idle: The strike idled many workers.
[19] to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle: I waited in the car while idling the engine.
[20] the state or quality of being idle.
[21] the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling: a cold engine that stalls at idle.
[22] a person who idles
[23] another name for idle pulley, idle wheel
[24] nautical a ship's crew member, such as a carpenter, sailmaker, etc, whose duties do not include standing regular watches
[25] unemployed or unoccupied; inactive
[26] not operating or being used
[27] (of money) not being used to earn interest or dividends
[28] not wanting to work; lazy
[29] (usually prenominal) frivolous or trivial idle pleasures
[30] ineffective or powerless; fruitless; vain
[31] without basis; unfounded
[32] (when tr, often foll by away ) to waste or pass (time) fruitlessly or inactively he idled the hours away
[33] (intr) to loiter or move aimlessly
[34] (intr) (of a shaft, engine, etc) to turn without doing useful work
[35] (intr) (of an engine) to run at low speed with the transmission disengaged Also (Brit): tick over
[36] (tr) US and Canadian to cause to be inactive or unemployed

Words related to Idler

loafer, slacker, drone

Words nearby Idler

idle gear, idle pulley, idle time, idle wheel, idleness, idler, idler shaft, idlesse, idlewild, idn, ido

Origin of Idler

before 900; 1915–20 for def 12 ; Middle English, Old English īdel (adj.) empty, trifling, vain, useless; cognate with German eitel

Words that may be confused with Idler

WORDS, THAT, MAY, BE, CONFUSED, WITH, idleidle, idol, idyll, (see, synonym, study, at, the, current, entry)

Other words from Idler

i·dle·ness , noun
i·dly , adverb
o·ver·i·dle , adjective
o·ver·i·dle·ness , noun
o·ver·i·dly , adverb
un·i·dle , adjective
un·i·dling , adjective
un·i·dly , adverb

Word origin for Idler

Old English īdel; compare Old High German ītal empty, vain

Synonyms for Idler

drone, loafer, slacker, couch potato, lazy bum