I. i·dle 1 /ˈaɪdl/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: idel ]
1 . not working or producing anything OPP busy :
I cannot afford to leave the land lying idle.
The whole team stood idle, waiting for the mechanic.
The workers have been idle for the last six months.
2 . not serious, or not done with any definite intention:
She was not a woman to make idle threats.
idle chatter/talk/gossip etc
It was only from idle curiosity that she went into the barn.
3 . lazy:
Go and wake up that idle brother of yours.
REGISTER
Idle sounds rather old-fashioned and literary. In everyday English, people usually say lazy :
▪
She's not stupid, just lazy.
4 . it is idle to do something it is not worth doing something, because nothing will be achieved:
It would be idle to deny that progress was made.
5 . the idle rich rich people who do not have to work
—idleness noun [uncountable]
—idly adverb :
They sat chatting idly.
I cannot stand idly by and let him take the blame.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ lazy not liking work or physical activity, or not making any effort to do anything:
a lazy student
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You make your own breakfast! Don't be so lazy!
▪ idle lazy and not doing enough work. Idle sounds rather formal and is becoming old-fashioned. In everyday English, people usually use lazy :
The beggars were too idle to look for work.
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Her son was bone idle (=extremely lazy) .
▪ indolent formal lazy and living a comfortable life:
He spent an indolent first year at Oxford.
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the indolent son of a wealthy landowner
▪ shiftless lazy and having no ambition to succeed or do anything useful with your life:
her shiftless husband
▪ work-shy British English lazy and trying to avoid any work:
He was work-shy, and no one could remember when he’d last held a job.
▪ slothful formal lazy and not liking physical activity:
Her advice to slothful Americans is: ‘Get out there and walk!’
II. idle 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [intransitive] if an engine idles, it runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving:
He flicked a switch and let the boat idle.
2 . [intransitive] to spend time doing nothing:
Sometimes he went for a walk; sometimes he just idled.
3 . [transitive] American English to stop using a factory or stop providing work for your workers, especially temporarily SYN shut down :
The company has idled a number of its US plants indefinitely.
idle something ↔ away phrasal verb
to spend time in a relaxed way, doing nothing:
They idled their time away in the pub.