'IDLE' definitions:
Definition of 'idle'
From: WordNet
adjective
Not in action or at work; "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind" [ant: busy]
adjective
Without a basis in reason or fact; "baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy" [syn: baseless, groundless, idle, unfounded, unwarranted, wild]
adjective
Not in active use; "the machinery sat idle during the strike"; "idle hands" [syn: idle, unused]
adjective
Silly or trivial; "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter" [syn: idle, light]
adjective
Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; "idle talk"; "a loose tongue" [syn: idle, loose]
adjective
Not yielding a return; "dead capital"; "idle funds" [syn: dead, idle]
adjective
Not having a job; "idle carpenters"; "jobless transients"; "many people in the area were out of work" [syn: idle, jobless, out of work]
noun
The state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling; "the car engine was running at idle"
verb
verb
Definition of 'Idle'
From: GCIDE
- Idle \I"dle\, v. t. To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; -- often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Idle'
From: GCIDE
- Idle \I"dle\, a. [Compar. Idler; superl. Idlest.] [OE. idel, AS. [imac]del vain, empty, useless; akin to OS. [imac]dal, D. ijdel, OHG. [imac]tal vain, empty, mere, G. eitel, Dan. & Sw. idel mere, pure, and prob. to Gr. ? clear, pure, ? to burn. Cf. Ether.]
- 1. Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren. "Deserts idle." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. --Matt. xii. 36. [1913 Webster]
- Down their idle weapons dropped. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- This idle story became important. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours. [1913 Webster]
- The idle spear and shield were high uphing. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen. [1913 Webster]
- Why stand ye here all the day idle? --Matt. xx. 6. [1913 Webster]
- 4. Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow. [1913 Webster]
- 5. Light-headed; foolish. [Obs.] --Ford. [1913 Webster]
- Idle pulley (Mach.), a pulley that rests upon a belt to tighten it; a pulley that only guides a belt and is not used to transmit power.
- Idle wheel (Mach.), a gear wheel placed between two others, to transfer motion from one to the other without changing the direction of revolution.
- In idle, in vain. [Obs.] "God saith, thou shalt not take the name of thy Lord God in idle." --Chaucer.
- Syn: Unoccupied; unemployed; vacant; inactive; indolent; sluggish; slothful; useless; ineffectual; futile; frivolous; vain; trifling; unprofitable; unimportant.
- Usage: Idle, Indolent, Lazy. A propensity to inaction is expressed by each of these words; they differ in the cause and degree of this characteristic. Indolent denotes an habitual love to ease, a settled dislike of movement or effort; idle is opposed to busy, and denotes a dislike of continuous exertion. Lazy is a stronger and more contemptuous term than indolent. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Idle'
From: GCIDE
Synonyms of 'idle'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- abortive,
- absurd,
- airy,
- amble,
- ambling,
- asinine,
- asleep,
- at a standstill,
- at anchor,
- at leisure,
- at liberty,
- at loose ends,
- available,
- baseless,
- be a sideliner,
- be still,
- bootless,
- brogue,
- bum,
- bum around,
- catchpenny,
- cautious,
- circumspect,
- claudicant,
- claudicate,
- coast,
- contemplative,
- coquet,
- crawl,
- crawling,
- creep,
- creeping,
- creeping like snail,
- dabble,
- dally,
- dally away,
- dead-still,
- delay,
- deliberate,
- diddle,
- diddle away,
- disengaged,
- do nothing,
- do-nothing,
- dog it,
- dogtrot,
- dormant,
- drag,
- drag along,
- drag out,
- dribble away,
- drift,
- drivel away,
- drone,
- easy,
- empty,
- faineant,
- fallow,
- faltering,
- fatuitous,
- fatuous,
- fiddle,
- fiddle with,
- fiddle-faddle,
- fidget with,
- finger with,
- fixed,
- flagging,
- flimsy,
- flirt,
- fool,
- fool around,
- fool away,
- fool with,
- foolish,
- foot-dragging,
- free,
- fribble,
- fribbling,
- fritter away,
- frivol,
- frivolous,
- frothy,
- fruitless,
- fust,
- futile,
- gentle,
- go dead slow,
- go slow,
- goldbrick,
- goof off,
- gradual,
- groundless,
- halting,
- hang around,
- hang fire,
- hibernate,
- hobble,
- hobbled,
- hobbling,
- hollow,
- horse around,
- idle away,
- ill-founded,
- immobile,
- immotive,
- inactive,
- inane,
- inch,
- inch along,
- indolent,
- inert,
- insignificant,
- jerk off,
- jobless,
- jog-trot,
- kid around,
- kill,
- kill time,
- lackadaisical,
- laissez-aller,
- laissez-faire,
- lallygag,
- languid,
- languorous,
- laze,
- lazy,
- leisure,
- leisured,
- leisurely,
- lethargic,
- lie around,
- lie dormant,
- light,
- limp,
- limping,
- linger,
- listless,
- loaf,
- loafing,
- loiter,
- loiter about,
- loitering,
- loll,
- loll around,
- lollop around,
- lollygag,
- lounge,
- lounge around,
- lumbering,
- lumpen,
- mark time,
- meaningless,
- meditative,
- mess around,
- moderate,
- monkey,
- monkey around,
- mooch,
- mooch around,
- moon,
- moon around,
- mosey,
- motionless,
- moveless,
- muddle away,
- neuter,
- neutral,
- not budge,
- not stir,
- nugacious,
- nugatory,
- off,
- off duty,
- off work,
- open,
- otiose,
- out of commission,
- out of employ,
- out of harness,
- out of work,
- paralytic,
- paralyzed,
- passive,
- piddle,
- piss away,
- play,
- play around,
- play with,
- pointless,
- poke,
- poke along,
- poking,
- poky,
- potter,
- potter away,
- procrastinating,
- putter,
- quiescent,
- quiet,
- quietist,
- quietistic,
- redundant,
- relax,
- relaxed,
- reluctant,
- repose,
- rest,
- resting,
- retired,
- riding at anchor,
- saunter,
- sauntering,
- semiretired,
- senseless,
- shallow,
- shiftless,
- shuffle along,
- shuffling,
- silly,
- sit around,
- sit back,
- sit it out,
- slack,
- sleep,
- sleepy,
- slender,
- slight,
- slothful,
- slouch,
- slouch around,
- slow,
- slow as death,
- slow as molasses,
- slow as slow,
- slow-crawling,
- slow-foot,
- slow-going,
- slow-legged,
- slow-moving,
- slow-paced,
- slow-poky,
- slow-running,
- slow-sailing,
- slow-stepped,
- sluggish,
- slumber,
- smatter,
- smolder,
- snail-paced,
- snaillike,
- spare,
- stagger along,
- staggering,
- stagnant,
- stagnate,
- stagnating,
- stand around,
- standpat,
- static,
- stationary,
- statuelike,
- still,
- stock-still,
- stroll,
- strolling,
- superficial,
- take it easy,
- tarry,
- tentative,
- tinker,
- toddle,
- toddle along,
- toddling,
- tortoiselike,
- totter along,
- tottering,
- toy,
- toy with,
- traipse,
- trifle,
- trifle away,
- trifling,
- trite,
- trivial,
- trudging,
- turtlelike,
- twiddle,
- unavailing,
- unbased,
- unemployable,
- unemployed,
- unfounded,
- unfruitful,
- ungrounded,
- unhurried,
- unimportant,
- unmoved,
- unmoving,
- unoccupied,
- unproductive,
- unsupportable,
- unsupported,
- unsustainable,
- unsustained,
- untenable,
- unused,
- unwarranted,
- useless,
- vacuous,
- vain,
- vapid,
- vegetable,
- vegetate,
- vegetative,
- waddle,
- waddling,
- wait and see,
- walk,
- waste,
- watch and wait,
- while away,
- windy,
- without basis,
- without foundation,
- workless,
- worm,
- worm along,
- worthless
Acronyms for 'IDLE'
From: V.E.R.A.
- Integrated DeveLopment Environment (Python)
- International Date Line, East [+1200] (TZ)