Meaning & use
idle
Not active, working, or in use; avoiding work or activity.
See it in a sentence
The factory's machines sat idle for weeks after the strike began.
He spent an idle afternoon reading on the porch with nothing else planned.
A note on using this word
Idle can describe people avoiding effort, machines not running, or simply unused time, without always being negative.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. verb
(Of an engine) To run slowly while not engaged in gear, or to spend time doing nothing.
The car idled in the driveway while she finished loading the trunk.
Make it your own
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