n. 1 laziness or indolence; reluctance to make an effort. 2 any slow-moving nocturnal mammal of the family Bradypodidae or Megalonychidae of S. America, having long limbs and hooked claws for hanging upside down from branches of trees. sloth bear a large-lipped black shaggy bear, Melursus ursinus, of India.
[ ME f. SLOW + -TH(2) ]