— loiterer , n. — loiteringly , adv.
/loy"teuhr/ , v.i.
1. to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place: to loiter around the bus terminal.
2. to move in a slow, idle manner, making purposeless stops in the course of a trip, journey, errand, etc.: to loiter on the way to work.
3. to waste time or dawdle over work: He loiters over his homework until one in the morning.
v.t.
4. to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usually fol. by away ): to loiter away the afternoon in daydreaming.
[ 1300-50; ME loteren, loytren, perh. loteren to stagger, totter; cf. D leuteren to dawdle ]
Syn. 1. LOITER, DALLY, DAWDLE, IDLE imply moving or acting slowly, stopping for unimportant reasons, and in general wasting time. To LOITER is to linger aimlessly: to loiter outside a building. To DALLY is to loiter indecisively or to delay as if free from care or responsibility: to dally on the way home. To DAWDLE is to saunter, stopping often, and taking a great deal of time, or to fritter away time working in a halfhearted way: to dawdle over a task. To IDLE is to move slowly and aimlessly, or to spend a great deal of time doing nothing: to idle away the hours. 1-4 . loaf. 2, 3 . delay, tarry.