idlei·dle1 /ˈaɪdl/ ●○○ adjective 
I cannot afford to leave the land lying idle. The whole team stood idle, waiting for the mechanic. The workers have been idle for the last six months.2not serious, or not done with any definite intention: She was not a woman to make idle threats.idle chatter/talk/gossip etc It was only from idle curiosity that she went into the barn.3lazy: Go and wake up that idle brother of yours.RegisterIdle sounds rather old-fashioned and literary. In everyday English, people usually say lazy:· She's not stupid, just lazy.4it is idle to do something it is not worth doing something, because nothing will be achieved: It would be idle to deny that progress was made.5the idle rich rich people who do not have to work—idleness noun [uncountable]—idly adverb: They sat chatting idly. I cannot stand idly by and let him take the blame.
WORD ORIGINidle1
Origin:
Old English idelEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- idle gossip
- Almost half the skilled workers in this country are now idle.
- Hundreds of workers sat idle on the factory floor waiting for the assembly line to start again.
- Most of the factory stood idle during the strike.
- Painting is a favorite hobby of the idle rich.
- That husband of hers is bone idle. No wonder the house is such a mess.
- The factory has been idle since May.
- The new machines may sit idle for months until they have been paid for.
- Wake up that idle young brother of yours and tell him it's time for school!
- Why is millions of pounds worth of state-of-the-art equipment lying idle?
- As Tallis ran towards him she thought, with idle horror, that he looked as if he was praying.
- Doctors are not idle men, Miss Thorne, and you are a fit woman.
- Exactly when we might end our voyage was largely a matter of idle speculation.
- Scientology is a cereal-box religion, and reading Ron is an idle diversion that quickly becomes annoying.
- She had no time for idle gossip as she had to do all the work herself.
- They closed a few plants and decided to use the idle machinery to make plastic chips for cigarette filters.
THESAURUS
not liking work or physical activity, or not making any effort to do anything: · a lazy student· You make your own breakfast! Don't be so lazy!
lazy and not doing enough work. Idle sounds rather formal and is becoming old-fashioned. In everyday English, people usually use lazy: · The beggars were too idle to look for work.· Her son was bone idle (=extremely lazy).
formal lazy and living a comfortable life: · He spent an indolent first year at Oxford.· the indolent son of a wealthy landowner
lazy and having no ambition to succeed or do anything useful with your life: · her shiftless husband
British English lazy and trying to avoid any work: · He was work-shy, and no one could remember when he’d last held a job.
formal lazy and not liking physical activity: · Her advice to slothful Americans is: ‘Get out there and walk!’
Longman Language Activatornot doing anything not doing anything, especially work, because there is nothing to do: · Almost half the skilled workers in this country are now idle.sit/stand idle: · Hundreds of workers sat idle on the factory floor waiting for the assembly line to start again.
not doing anything, for example, because you are old or ill: · She dreads becoming old and inactive.· Very shy people often become socially inactive.
not making decisions or taking control of situations yourself but allowing other people to do it for you, especially in a situation where other people are trying to control or influence you: · Emma plays far too passive a role in group discussions.· You're too passive, Harry. You should just tell her you don't want to go.
lazy someone who is lazy does not like work or physical activity, and tries to avoid it: · Marian didn't do well at school. She was intelligent, but very lazy.· Get up, you lazy thing! It's nearly lunchtime.a lazy day/week etc (=a time when you relax and do not work hard): · We spent a lazy afternoon at the beach.· The lazy days of summer are finally here.
someone who is idle is lazy and does not do enough work -- used to show strong disapproval: · Wake up that idle young brother of yours and tell him it's time for school!the idle rich (=rich people who do not have to work to earn money): · Painting is a favorite hobby of the idle rich.bone idle British (=very lazy): · That husband of hers is bone idle. No wonder the house is such a mess.
British spoken if you say that you can't be bothered to do something, you mean that you have decided not to do it because it is not interesting to you and you are feeling too lazy: · When I asked her to help me she said that she couldn't be bothered.can't be bothered to do something: · My hairdresser says I should use a hairdryer to dry my hair, but I can't be bothered to do it every day.· They complain so much about the government, but they can't be bothered to vote.
no longer being used especially British a disused factory, mine, railway etc is old and not used any more: · The drugs were found in a disused warehouse.· They have been given a grant to convert the disused church into luxury flats.
something that is unused has not yet been used or has not been used for a long time: · His old car sat in the garage, unused.· Batteries which are unused for long periods may have to be recharged.· Unused muscles can feel very sore when you start exercising.
if machines or factories are idle , they are not being used: · stand/sit/lie idle: · Most of the factory stood idle during the strike.· The new machines may sit idle for months until they have been paid for.· Why is millions of pounds worth of state-of-the-art equipment lying idle?
if something such as a machine or a plan gathers dust , it is not being used, especially when it could be useful: · Some of the new equipment is just gathering dust because the staff have not been trained to use it.· The plans lie gathering dust in some government office.
if something falls into disuse , people gradually stop using it because they no longer need or want it: · The canal system fell into disuse around the end of the nineteenth century.· When the old woman died, the house fell into disuse.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY I cannot afford to leave the land lying idle. The whole team stood idle, waiting for the mechanic. She was not a woman to make idle threats. It was only from idle curiosity that she went into the barn. I cannot stand idly by and let him take the blame.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES gossip and idle chatter
I cannot afford to leave the land lying idle. The whole team stood idle, waiting for the mechanic. She was not a woman to make idle threats. It was only from idle curiosity that she went into the barn. I cannot stand idly by and let him take the blame. (=a false statement that something is good or possible) ‘Making knowledge work’ is the university’s phrase, and it is no idle boast (=not a boast, but true).
‘Making knowledge work’ is the university’s phrase, and it is no idle boast (=not a boast, but true). gossip and idle chatter (=wanting to know something for no particular reason)· Out of idle curiosity, I looked out of the window.
(=runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving)· The taxi waited at the kerb, its engine idling noisily.
(=gossip not based on facts)· She had no time for idle gossip.
(=unlikely to be true)· Such fears are wild speculation.
(=not being used) scores of derelict houses standing empty I’m not too thrilled with the way things stand (=the state that the situation is in) at the moment. The evidence, as it stands (=as it is now), cannot be conclusive.
scores of derelict houses standing empty I’m not too thrilled with the way things stand (=the state that the situation is in) at the moment. The evidence, as it stands (=as it is now), cannot be conclusive. (=one that is not sincere)· She was not a woman to make idle threats.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· And so it acquired its contemporary, pejorative connotation of idle chatter.· Believe me, this is not idle chatter.· As a family the Hendrys didn't hold with interrupting the serious business of eating with idle chatter.
· Jess shivered, looking down at the upturned faces that stared at her with idle curiosity.· It was only from idle curiosity that she went into Nannie's room.· It's not just idle curiosity.· And he asked me a lot of very pertinent questions which seemed to me more than idle curiosity.· As we leave, I glance around to see if anyone shows more than idle curiosity.· Perhaps it was nothing more than idle curiosity.· It should be remembered that it is not idle curiosity that prompts them.
· She had no time for idle gossip as she had to do all the work herself.· She's a great one for idle gossip though.
· Satan, who finds work for idle hands to do, also fills idle minds with fruitless speculation.· The devil makes work for idle hands. 30.
· But he had no time for idle speculation.· Exactly when we might end our voyage was largely a matter of idle speculation.
· Forgotten, or decided it had been idle talk, a vow impossible to realise.· It was no place for idle talk then: there was too much action for gossip.
· It is important to remember that logical consequences are never to be used as an idle threat.· This was no idle threat from Rhodes, whose sole focus is winning.· She was not a woman to make idle threats.· It was an idle threat on Lavinia's part to hire a companion at all.· She wished she could convince herself that what he'd said had merely been an idle threat.· I knew it was just idle threats, but a lot wouldn't have - they'd have been distraught.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► it is idle to do something
1not working or producing anything OPP busy: - He said it was a playground for the idle rich and ought to be used to grow crops for the proletariat.
- The world divided into the idle rich and the labouring poor.
I cannot afford to leave the land lying idle. The whole team stood idle, waiting for the mechanic. The workers have been idle for the last six months.2not serious, or not done with any definite intention: She was not a woman to make idle threats.idle chatter/talk/gossip etc It was only from idle curiosity that she went into the barn.3lazy: Go and wake up that idle brother of yours.RegisterIdle sounds rather old-fashioned and literary. In everyday English, people usually say lazy:· She's not stupid, just lazy.4it is idle to do something it is not worth doing something, because nothing will be achieved: It would be idle to deny that progress was made.5the idle rich rich people who do not have to work—idleness noun [uncountable]—idly adverb: They sat chatting idly. I cannot stand idly by and let him take the blame.