ENGLISH THESAURUS & DICTIONARY

idle

adjective · noun · verb

Words like idle

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65 words · adjective, noun, verbSort by

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Similar meaningadjective

bone-idle

Similar meaningadjective

bone-lazy

Similar meaningadjective

Related words aren’t always interchangeable. Check the definition before you choose.

MEANING & USAGE

Definitions & examples

01adjective

not in action or at work

“an idle laborer”

“idle drifters”

02adjective

without a basis in reason or fact

“baseless gossip”

“the allegations proved groundless”

03adjective

not in active use

“the machinery sat idle during the strike”

“idle hands”

04adjective

silly or trivial

“idle pleasure”

“light banter”

6 more meanings

05adjective

lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility

“idle talk”

“a loose tongue”

06adjective

not yielding a return

“dead capital”

“idle funds”

07adjective

not having a job

“idle carpenters”

“jobless transients”

08noun

the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling

“the car engine was running at idle”

09verb

run disconnected or idle

“the engine is idling”

10verb

be idle; exist in a changeless situation

“The old man sat and stagnated on his porch”

“He slugged in bed all morning”

Meanings and examples from Open English WordNet 2025. About our sources ↗

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Expressions with “idle”

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Explore multiword dictionary entries containing this word. Each has its own meanings and related words.

idle talk idle wheel idle words idle pulley