idleadjective
uk/ˈaɪ.dəl/us/ˈaɪ.dəl/idle adjective (NOT WORKING)
C1 not working or being used:
Half these factories now stand idle.
It's crazy to have £7,000 sitting idle in the bank.
An idle moment or period of time is one in which there is no work or activity:
If you have an idle moment, call me.
without work:
Almost half of the workforce are now idle.
Synonym
unemployed
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Machines - not functioning
- burn
- cut
- deactivate
- dead
- defunct
- fritz
- ghost
- give up the ghost idiom
- go down
- haywire
- on the blink idiom
- out of commission idiom
- seize
- shudder
- shut
- shut (sth) off
- stop
- unusable
- whack
- wrong
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Passive and not working
Unemployment
idle adjective (NO PURPOSE)
C2 [ before noun ] without any particular purpose:
idle chatter/gossip/speculation
an idle glance
This is no idle threat.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Useless and futile
- a mug's game idiom
- adrift
- aimless
- airy-fairy
- be at a loose end idiom
- flaccid
- fool's errand
- for the hell of it idiom
- frivolous
- fruitless
- moon around
- motiveless
- negate
- no good idiom
- nugatory
- unwieldy
- use
- useless
- vain
- vainly
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idle adjective (LAZY)
C2 UK lazy and not willing to work:
He's a very able student, he's just bone idle (= very lazy).
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Laziness and lazy people
- bludger
- bone idle idiom
- bum around
- CBA
- clock-watching
- deadbeat
- doss
- inertia
- layabout
- lazy
- lazybones
- lie
- lie down on the job idiom
- loafer
- shirker
- skiver
- slacker
- slackness
- slob
- slug
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idleness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈaɪ.dəl.nəs/us/ˈaɪ.dəl.nəs/
idleverb [ I ]
uk/ˈaɪ.dəl/us/ˈaɪ.dəl/UK also tick overIf an engine or machine idles, it runs slowly but does not move or do any work:
He left the engine idling and ran into the shop.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Engineering - mechanical
- -engined
- artificer
- automatic
- automatically
- automative
- hydraulic
- internal combustion engine
- mechanic
- mechanical
- mechanically
- octane
- octane number
- outboard motor
- pedal
- strip
- tick
- torque
- tune
- vane
- wheelbase
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The engine & engine parts
Phrasal verb(s)
idle sth away