noun
- Person who does no work.
- usage: "a lazy bum"
- synonyms: loafer, do-nothing, layabout, bum
adjective
- Not in action or at work.
- usage: "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind"
- synonyms: idle
- Without a basis in reason or fact.
- usage: "baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy"
- synonyms: baseless, groundless, idle, unfounded, unwarranted, wild
- Not in active use.
- usage: "the machinery sat idle during the strike"; "idle hands"
- Silly or trivial.
- usage: "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter"
- Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility.
- usage: "idle talk"; "a loose tongue"
- Not yielding a return.
- usage: "dead capital"; "idle funds"
- Not having a job.
- usage: "idle carpenters"; "jobless transients"; "many people in the area were out of work"
- synonyms: idle, jobless, out of work
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). idler. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/idler/definitions/1324576 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "idler" http://smartdefine.org/idler/definitions/1324576 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, idler, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/idler/definitions/1324576>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "idler" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/idler/definitions/1324576> |