Dictionary
i•dle
Pronunciation: (īd'l), [key]
—adj., i•dler, i•dlest,
—v. i•dled, i•dling,
—n.
—
adj.
1. not working or active; unemployed; doing nothing:
idle workers.
2. not spent or filled with activity:
idle hours.
3. not in use or operation; not kept busy:
idle machinery.
4. habitually doing nothing or avoiding work; lazy.
5. of no real worth, importance, or significance:
idle talk.
6. having no basis or reason; baseless; groundless:
idle fears.
7. frivolous; vain:
idle pleasures.
8. meaningless; senseless:
idle threats.
9. futile; unavailing:
idle rage.
—
v.i.
1. to pass time doing nothing.
2. to move, loiter, or saunter aimlessly:
to idle along the avenue.
3. (of a machine, engine, or mechanism) to operate at a low speed, disengaged from the load.
—
v.t.
1. to pass (time) doing nothing (often fol. by
away):
to idle away the afternoon.
2. to cause (a person) to be idle:
The strike idled many workers.
3. to cause (a machine, engine, or mechanism) to idle:
I waited in the car while idling the engine.
—
n.
1. the state or quality of being idle.
2. the state of a machine, engine, or mechanism that is idling:
a cold engine that stalls at idle. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
