Noun: idler I-d(u)l-u(r) or Id-lu(r)
- Person who does no work
"a lazy idler";
- loafer, do-nothing [informal], layabout [informal], bum [N. Amer, informal], slacker [informal], shirker [informal], deadbeat [informal]
- Not in action or at work
"the idle rich"; "an idle mind"; "an idle labourer"; "idle drifters"
- Not in active use
"idle hands"; "the machinery sat idle during the strike";
- unused
- Not having a job
"idle carpenters";
- jobless, out of work
- Not yielding a return
"idle funds";
- dead
- Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
"idle talk";
- loose
- Silly or trivial
"idle pleasure"; "light idle chatter";
- light
- Without a basis in reason or fact
"idle fears";
- baseless, groundless, unfounded, unwarranted, wild
Derived forms: idlers
See also: bone-idle, bone-lazy, fainéant [archaic], frivolous, ill-founded, inactive, indolent, ineffective, ineffectual, irresponsible, lackadaisical, lazy, leisured, otiose, slothful, uneffective, unemployed, unengaged, unprofitable, unsupported, work-shy [Brit, informal]
Type of: nonworker
Antonym: busy
Encyclopedia: Idler
Idle, West Yorkshire