idle

adj., i·dler, i·dlest.

1. 1. Not employed or busy: idle carpenters. See synonyms at inactive.
   2. Avoiding work or employment; lazy: shiftless, idle youth. See synonyms at lazy.
   3. Not in use or operation: idle hands.
2. Lacking substance, value, or basis. See synonyms at baseless, vain.

v., i·dled, i·dling, i·dles.

v.intr.

1. To pass time without working or while avoiding work.
2. To move lazily and without purpose.
3. To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor vehicle.

v.tr.

1. To pass (time) without working or while avoiding work; waste: idle the afternoon away.
2. To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive.
3. To cause (a motor, for example) to idle.

n.

1. A state of idling. Used of a motor vehicle: an engine running quietly at idle.
2. A mechanism for regulating the speed at which an engine runs at rest: set the idle higher to keep the motor from stalling.

[Middle English idel, from Old English īdel.]

idleness i'dle·ness n.
idler i'dler (īd'lər) n.
idly i'dly adv.

adjective

1. Marked by a lack of action or activity: inactive, inert, inoperative. See action/inaction.
2. Resistant to exertion and activity: fainéant, indolent, lazy, shiftless, slothful, sluggard, sluggish. Informal do-nothing. Idioms: bone lazy. See action/inaction, industrious/lazy.
3. Not occupied or put to use: inactive, unemployed, unused, vacant. See used/unused.
4. Lacking value, use, or substance: empty, hollow, otiose, vacant, vain. See full/empty/capacity.
5. Having no basis or foundation in fact: baseless, bottomless, groundless, unfounded, unwarranted. See true/false.

verb

1. To pass time without working or in avoiding work: bum¹ (around), laze, loaf, loiter, lounge, shirk. Slang diddle², goldbrick, goof (off). See industrious/lazy.
2. To pass (time) without working or in avoiding work. dawdle (away), fiddle away, kill¹, trifle away, waste, while (away), wile (away). See industrious/lazy.
3. To cause to cease regular activity: immobilize, stop, tie up. Idioms: bring to a screeching halt. See continue/stop/pause.

adj

Definition: lazy
Antonyms: ambitious, busy, diligent, hustling, industrious, productive

adj

Definition: not used; out of action
Antonyms: active, busy, employed, productive, used, working

adj

Definition: worthless, ineffective
Antonyms: effective, important, meaningful, productive, worthwhile

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A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

A model farm where the devil experiments with seeds of new sins and promotes the growth of staple vices.

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IN BRIEF: Not working or busy. Or to run slowly.

He is not only idle who does nothing, but he is idle who might be better employed. — Socrates (469-399 BC), Greek philosopher.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - ledig, doven, tom, unødig, ubeskæftiget, ude af drift
v. intr. - drive, dovne, gå i tomgang, sidde med hænderne i skødet, uvirksom
v. tr. - drive tiden hen, drive den af

idioms:

• idle away    drive tiden hen, sløse tiden bort
• idle wheel    mellemhjul
• let idle    sætte i tomgang

Nederlands (Dutch)
lui, buiten werking, werkloos, ongebruikt, nietsdoend, waardeloos, nietsdoen, stationair draaien, luieren

Français (French)
adj. - paresseux, fainéant, vain, oiseux (une question), inutile (une remarque), à l'arrêt, inexploité (la terre), (Fin) dormant (un capital)
v. intr. - tourner au ralenti (un moteur), paresser, flemmarder
v. tr. - fainéanter, musarder

idioms:

• idle away    gaspiller, perdre son temps (à ne rien faire)
• idle wheel    roue folle
• let idle    faire tourner au ralenti

Deutsch (German)
v. - faulenzen, leerlaufen
adj. - faul, untätig, unbeschäftigt, leer, zwecklos, stillgelegt

idioms:

• idle away    vertun, vertrödeln
• idle wheel    Zwischenrad
• let idle    im Leerlauf laufen lassen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - τεμπελιάζω, χαζεύω, αργώ, λειτουργώ στο ρελαντί

idioms:

• idle away    κατασπαταλώ (κν. χαραμίζω), χασομερώ
• idle wheel    (μηχαν.) ενδιάμεσος τροχός ή γρανάζι
• let idle    αφήνω να αδρανεί

Italiano (Italian)
oziare, poltrire, ozioso

idioms:

• idle away    sprecare
• idle wheel    cambio in folle
• let idle    mettere in folle

Português (Portuguese)
v. - ficar sem fazer nada, funcionar parado em marcha lenta (Autom.)

idioms:

• idle away    passar o tempo à toa
• idle wheel    roda (f) livre
• let idle    dar um descanso

Русский (Russian)
неработающий, праздный, ленивый, бесполезный, холостой (тех.), нейтральный (тех.), пустой, лениться, тратить время попусту, работать на холостом ходу

idioms:

• idle away    растрачивать
• idle wheel    паразитное зубчатое колесо
• let idle    оставить в покое

Español (Spanish)
adj. - ocioso
v. intr. - haraganear, gandulear, estar ocioso, vagar
v. tr. - gastar ociosamente, hacer marchar en mínima el motor de un coche estando parado

idioms:

• idle away    perder, desperdiciar
• idle wheel    rueda intermedia, rueda loca
• let idle    hacer funcionar en vacío, girar loco

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - slösa bort tiden, lata sig, gå på tomgång

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
懒惰的, 停顿的, 闲散的, 无所事事, 闲逛, 闲混, 空转, 虚度, 使空转, 使空闲

idioms:

• idle away    荒废, 浪费荒废, 浪费
• idle wheel    中间齿轮, 惰轮, 滚轮
• let idle    让引擎空转, 让时光虚度

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 懶惰的, 停頓的, 閒散的
v. intr. - 無所事事, 閒逛, 閑混, 空轉
v. tr. - 虛度, 使空轉, 使空閒

idioms:

• idle away    荒廢, 浪費荒廢, 浪費
• idle wheel    中間齒輪, 惰輪, 滾輪
• let idle    讓引擎空轉, 讓時光虛度

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 게으름뱅이의, 한가한, 무익한
v. intr. - 게으름을 피우고있다, 헛돌다
v. tr. - 헛돌게 하다, 놀게 하다

idioms:

• idle away    헛되이 보내다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 仕事をしていない, 利用されていない, 怠けた, むだな, くだらない, 怠けている, 怠惰な, 遊んでいる, 暇な
v. - 怠ける, 空回りする, 怠けて過ごす, 空費する

idioms:

• idle away    怠けて過ごす
• idle wheel    遊び車
• let idle    怠けさせる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يتكاسل, يعطل عن العمل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮בטל, לא עובד, עצל, חסר-תועלת, חסר-ערך‬
v. intr. - ‮התבטל, פעל בהילוך סרק‬
v. tr. - ‮התבטל, פעל בהילוך סרק, בזבז זמן‬

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