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idle |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Idle \I"dle\, a. [Compar. {Idler}; superl. {Idlest}.] [OE. idel, AS [=i]del vain, empty, useless; akin to OS [=i]dal, D. ijdel OHG. [=i]tal vain, empty, mere, G. eitel, Dan. & Sw idel mere, pure, and prob. to Gr ? clear, pure, ? to burn. Cf {Ether}.] 1. Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren. ``Deserts idle.'' --Shak. Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. --Matt. xii. 36. Down their idle weapons dropped. --Milton. This idle story became important. --Macaulay. 2. Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use unemployed; as idle hours. The idle spear and shield were high uphing. --Milton. 3. Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as idle workmen. Why stand ye here all the day idle? --Matt. xx 6. 4. Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as an idle fellow. 5. Light-headed; foolish. [Obs.] --Ford. {Idle pulley} (Mach.), a pulley that rests upon a belt to tighten it a pulley that only guides a belt and is not used to transmit power. {Idle wheel} (Mach.), a gear wheel placed between two others to transfer motion from one to the other without changing the direction of revolution. {In idle}, in vain. [Obs.] ``God saith, thou shalt not take the name of thy Lord God in idle.'' --Chaucer. Syn: Unoccupied; unemployed; vacant; inactive; indolent; sluggish; slothful; useless; ineffectual; futile; frivolous; vain; trifling; unprofitable; unimportant. Usage: {Idle}, {Indolent}, {Lazy}. A propensity to inaction is expressed by each of these words they differ in the cause and degree of this characteristic. Indolent denotes an habitual love to ease, a settled dislike of movement or effort; idle is opposed to {busy}, and denotes a dislike of continuous exertion. Lazy is a stronger and more contemptuous term than indolent. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Idle \I"dle\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Idled}; p. pr & vb n. {Idling}.] To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business. --Shak. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Idle \I"dle\, v. t. To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; -- often followed by away as to idle away an hour a day From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: idle adj 1: not in action or at work "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind" [ant: {busy}] 2: without a basis in reason or fact "baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy" [syn: {baseless}, {groundless}, {unfounded}, {unwarranted}] 3: not in active use "the machinery sat idle during the strike"; "idle hands" [syn: {unused}] 4: silly or trivial; "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter" [syn: {light}] 5: lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; "idle talk"; "a loose tongue" [syn: {loose}] 6: not yielding a return; "dead capital"; "idle funds" [syn: {dead}] 7: not having a job; "idle carpenters"; "jobless transients"; "many people in the area were out of work" [syn: {jobless}, {out of work}] v 1: run disconnected or idle; "the engine is idling" [ant: {run}] 2: spent time in idleness [syn: {laze}, {stagnate}] [ant: {work}] From V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms 13 March 2001 [vera]: IDLE International Date Line East [+1200] TZ
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