Meaning & use
loafed
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“loafed” is a form of “loaf”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbintransitiveinformaldisapproving
Past form of loaf: spent time lazily and doing nothing useful, especially when you should have been working.
Grammar: No object; often with around or about: he loafed around the house all day.
Patterns
- loaf around
- loaf about
He loafed around the house all weekend instead of cleaning the garage.
The students loafed in the park after the exam, enjoying the sun.
We loafed on the porch until the evening, watching the clouds.
Word forms
| base form | loaf |
|---|---|
| third person singular | loafs |
| -ing form | loafing |
Common combinations
- loafed around
- They loafed around the pool until sunset.
- loafed about
- He loafed about the office, avoiding work.
- loafed all day
- The cat loafed all day on the sunny windowsill.
- loafed through
- She loafed through the course and still passed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lounged
- Lounged suggests relaxing comfortably and may sound pleasant, while loafed hints at laziness and wasted time.
- idled
- Idled means doing nothing, often because of a lack of work, and is more neutral than loafed.
- slacked
- Slacked focuses on not putting in expected effort, so it is more critical than loafed.
- dawdled
- Dawdled means moving slowly or wasting time on the way somewhere, unlike loafed, which means staying inactive.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: loafed or loaf?
loafed vs loaf
A loaf is a shaped block of bread, with the plural loaves; the verb loaf, meaning to idle, makes the past tense loafed.
Practice
Instead of studying, he ____ around the house all afternoon.
Choose one answer.
Loafed is the past tense of the verb loaf. Loaves is a plural noun, and loaved is not a word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “loafed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.