idler
ˈī-dᵊl-ər 
ˈīd-lər
; idlest
ˈī-dᵊl-əst
ˈīd-ləst
1
: not occupied or employed: such as
a
: having no employment : inactive
idle workers
b
: not turned to normal or appropriate use
idle farmland
c
: not scheduled to compete
the team will be idle tomorrow
2
: lacking worth or basis : vain
idle chatter
idle pleasure
idled; idling
ˈī-dᵊl-iŋ
ˈīd-liŋ
1
: to run at low power and often disconnected usually so that power is not used for useful work
the engine is idling
2
a
: to spend time in idleness
b
: to move idly
1
: to pass in idleness
2
: to cause to idle
3
: to make idle
workers idled by a strike
Synonyms
Adjective
Verb
Examples of idle in a Sentence
Adjective
There has been a lot of idle speculation about what might happen, but no one really knows.
the idle days of summer
Verb
She left the engine idling for a few seconds before she turned it off.
The cars idled in traffic.
A group of boys idled in the doorway.
The factory closed, idling several hundred workers.
Thousands of workers have been idled by the bad economy.
The factory has been idled by the strike.
Recent Examples on the Web
Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks loaded with food and medical aid have been sitting idle on the roads heading into Gaza, as a senior humanitarian official accused the Israeli government of blocking lifesaving supplies from reaching the devastated enclave.
—Josh Feldman, NBC News, 31 Mar. 2024
The 13 or so ships trapped in the harbor will sit idle for weeks.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 31 Mar. 2024
But even as officials raced to restore access to the Port of Baltimore, which generates thousands of jobs and handles tens of billions of dollars worth of cargo each year, the Chesapeake 1000 sat idle Friday, underscoring the complexity, length and danger of the operation.
—Danny Nguyen, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Ships sat idle elsewhere, unsure where and when to dock.
—Jenny Gross, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan can’t sit idle.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024
Believe it or not, long before movie theaters and bowling alleys, before Settlers of Catan and Xbox, our ancestors found pleasant ways to pass their idle hours.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
While we are certainly fascinated with celebrity scandals, experts point out that this case in particular dredges up more than idle, eyebrow-raising gossip.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
David Axe, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Parking lot lights are on dusk-to-dawn sensors, the venue composts, and prepaid parking reduces the time cars spend idling.
—Taylor Mims, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
Supply chains snags then were so bad that more than 100 container ships were idling outside the Port of Los Angeles, waiting for a berth to unload.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
The victim, a man in his 50s, was working as a custodian and left his vehicle idling near a Dumpster on the 700 block of Page Mill Road 5:51 a.m.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Customers can idle up to an in-house bar and seating area at the supermarket, most often attached to a Pours outlet that serves up drinks and smoothies, and place their orders.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Several hundred employees from Lordstown Assembly accepted transfers to other GM facilities when GM permanently idled the plant in 2019.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 7 Mar. 2024
In December 2022, a woman got into a car that was idling in the parking lot of a Columbus Donatos Pizza and drove off – with twin infant boys in the car’s back seat.
—Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024
An ambulance idled in my 80-year-old neighbor Sandra’s driveway as paramedics rolled a gurney into her home.
—Lisa Kanarek, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Moreover, a similar bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, is sitting idle in the Senate.
—Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, hundreds of trucks loaded with food and medical aid have been sitting idle on the roads heading into Gaza, as a senior humanitarian official accused the Israeli government of blocking lifesaving supplies from reaching the devastated enclave.
—Josh Feldman, NBC News, 31 Mar. 2024
The 13 or so ships trapped in the harbor will sit idle for weeks.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 31 Mar. 2024
But even as officials raced to restore access to the Port of Baltimore, which generates thousands of jobs and handles tens of billions of dollars worth of cargo each year, the Chesapeake 1000 sat idle Friday, underscoring the complexity, length and danger of the operation.
—Danny Nguyen, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Ships sat idle elsewhere, unsure where and when to dock.
—Jenny Gross, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
General manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan can’t sit idle.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024
Believe it or not, long before movie theaters and bowling alleys, before Settlers of Catan and Xbox, our ancestors found pleasant ways to pass their idle hours.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
While we are certainly fascinated with celebrity scandals, experts point out that this case in particular dredges up more than idle, eyebrow-raising gossip.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
Frequently idled as their operators struggled to stay in control, the robots rolled into battle in erratic fits and starts—and got knocked out by enemy fire.
—David Axe, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Parking lot lights are on dusk-to-dawn sensors, the venue composts, and prepaid parking reduces the time cars spend idling.
—Taylor Mims, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
Supply chains snags then were so bad that more than 100 container ships were idling outside the Port of Los Angeles, waiting for a berth to unload.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
The victim, a man in his 50s, was working as a custodian and left his vehicle idling near a Dumpster on the 700 block of Page Mill Road 5:51 a.m.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
Customers can idle up to an in-house bar and seating area at the supermarket, most often attached to a Pours outlet that serves up drinks and smoothies, and place their orders.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Several hundred employees from Lordstown Assembly accepted transfers to other GM facilities when GM permanently idled the plant in 2019.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 7 Mar. 2024
In December 2022, a woman got into a car that was idling in the parking lot of a Columbus Donatos Pizza and drove off – with twin infant boys in the car’s back seat.
—Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024
An ambulance idled in my 80-year-old neighbor Sandra’s driveway as paramedics rolled a gurney into her home.
—Lisa Kanarek, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'idle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near idle
Cite this Entry
“Idle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idle. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
idle
1 of 2 adjective1
: having no worth or basis
idle rumors
idle chatter
2
: not being used or employed
idle workers
idle factories
idle hours
3
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