loiter
verb
loi·ter ˈlȯi-tər 
loitered; loitering; loiters
intransitive verb
1
: to delay an activity with idle stops and pauses : dawdle
asked him not to loiter on the way home
2
a
: to remain in an area for no obvious reason
teenagers loitering in the parking lot
b
: to lag behind
a crowd of people, who loitered to hear the bloodcurdling threats the prisoner shouted
Willa Cather
Willa Cather loiter noun
loiterer
ˈlȯi-tər-ər
noun 
Synonyms
- crawl
- creep
- dally
- dawdle
- delay
- diddle
- dillydally
- drag
- lag
- linger
- lollygag
- lallygag
- mope
- poke
- shilly-shally
- tarry
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Loitering is prohibited outside the theaters. don't loiter in this neighborhood after dark
Recent Examples on the Web The creative joy behind DeepTom has proved contagious, resonating with the next generation of teenagers who loiter at the global algorithm malls. Miles Fisher, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 July 2022 Older people and the occasional teenager or young parent from the neighborhood knock on the door and loiter out front, peering through her window to try to catch a glimpse of what’s inside. Lillian Perlmutter, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2022 And thirdly, there is that extended loitering time, vastly longer than needed for most battlefield use — almost all similar munitions loiter for less than an hour. David Hambling, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022 Don’t loiter here or come back later, Or the god’s staff and chaplet won’t protect you. Sarah Ruden, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022 This allows Bayraktar to loiter more than three miles above the surface of Earth, day or night, and give drone operators hundreds of miles away the ability to look down onto the battlefield in real time. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 11 Mar. 2022 Both Hopkins and Keene say young children will be walking farther, sometimes crossing busy streets like North Avenue or Pennsylvania Avenue by themselves, and past corners where people loiter and deal drugs. Liz Bowie, baltimoresun.com, 10 Jan. 2022 Unlike fighter jets, which need to be refueled regularly and have crews that get tired, drones can loiter in the air for up to 24 hours while carrying out surveillance, probing air defenses, or waiting for a suitable target. The Week Staff, The Week, 20 June 2021 To reduce the amount of pollution being pumped into the neighborhoods near the port, ships were then asked to loiter beyond the horizon, 150 miles from the port. Aurora Almendral, Quartz, 6 Dec. 2021 See More
Miles Fisher, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 July 2022 Older people and the occasional teenager or young parent from the neighborhood knock on the door and loiter out front, peering through her window to try to catch a glimpse of what’s inside. Lillian Perlmutter, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2022 And thirdly, there is that extended loitering time, vastly longer than needed for most battlefield use — almost all similar munitions loiter for less than an hour. David Hambling, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022 Don’t loiter here or come back later, Or the god’s staff and chaplet won’t protect you. Sarah Ruden, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022 This allows Bayraktar to loiter more than three miles above the surface of Earth, day or night, and give drone operators hundreds of miles away the ability to look down onto the battlefield in real time. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 11 Mar. 2022 Both Hopkins and Keene say young children will be walking farther, sometimes crossing busy streets like North Avenue or Pennsylvania Avenue by themselves, and past corners where people loiter and deal drugs. Liz Bowie, baltimoresun.com, 10 Jan. 2022 Unlike fighter jets, which need to be refueled regularly and have crews that get tired, drones can loiter in the air for up to 24 hours while carrying out surveillance, probing air defenses, or waiting for a suitable target. The Week Staff, The Week, 20 June 2021 To reduce the amount of pollution being pumped into the neighborhoods near the port, ships were then asked to loiter beyond the horizon, 150 miles from the port. Aurora Almendral, Quartz, 6 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
loiter
verb
loi·ter ˈlȯi-tər
loitered; loitering
1
: to hang around somewhere for no good reason
2
: to dawdle on the way to somewhere
Don't loiter on your way home.
Legal Definition
loiter
intransitive verb
loi·ter ˈlȯi-tər
: to remain in or hang around an area for no obvious purpose
specifically : to linger for the purpose of committing a crime
a statute forbidding any person from loitering on school grounds
loiter
verb
as in to linger
to move or act slowly don't loiter in this neighborhood after dark Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- linger
- delay
- crawl
- drag
- poke
- stroll
- dawdle
- lollygag
- creep
- mope
- tarry
- play
- lag
- diddle
- idle
- stall
- dally
- fall behind
- mark time
- dillydally
- shuffle
- lounge
- drop behind
- stagger
- saunter
- hang fire
- lallygag
- amble
- shilly-shally
- drag one's heels
- loll
- trifle
- take one's time
- drag one's feet
- fool around
- loaf
- decelerate
- inch
- plod
- mess around
- procrastinate
- temporize
- ease
- fiddle (around)
- lumber
- putter (around)
- potter (around)
- monkey (around)
- hang (around or out)
- filibuster
- slow (down or up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- scurry
- fly
- hurry
- scoot
- course
- hasten
- rush
- run
- race
- speed
- whizz
- rip
- tear
- scud
- whirl
- rocket
- whiz
- career
- whisk
- dash
- dart
- hotfoot (it)
- breeze
- zip
- hustle
- hurtle
- scramble
- run
- barrel
- bolt
- jog
- hump
- trot
- gallop
- sprint
- bowl
- stampede
- accelerate
- quicken
- overtake
- outstrip
- speed (up)
- outrun
- outpace
- catch up
- fast-forward
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of loiter are dally, dawdle, delay, lag, and procrastinate. While all these words mean "to move or act slowly so as to fall behind," loiter and dawdle imply delay while in progress, especially in walking, but dawdle more clearly suggests an aimless wasting of time.
loitered at several store windows
children dawdling on their way home from school
The words dally and loiter can be used in similar contexts, but dally suggests delay through trifling or vacillation when promptness is necessary.
stop dallying and get to work
The meanings of delay and loiter largely overlap; however, delay usually implies a putting off of something (such as a beginning or departure).
we cannot delay any longer
While the synonyms lag and loiter are close in meaning, lag implies failure to maintain a speed set by others.
lagging behind in technology
The words procrastinate and loiter are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, procrastinate implies blameworthy delay especially through laziness or apathy.
procrastinates about making decisions