idle

idle [īd′'l]

adj.

idler, idlest [ME idel < OE, empty, akin to Ger eitel, vain, empty < ? IE base * ai-dh, to burn, shine: basic sense, either “only apparent, seeming” or “burned out”]

1.

a) having no value, use, or significance; worthless; useless [idle talk]

b) vain; futile; pointless [an idle wish]

2. baseless; unfounded [idle rumors]

3.

a) unemployed; not busy

b) inactive; not in use [idle machines]

c) not filled with activity [idle hours]

4. not inclined to work; lazy

5. designating certain parts of a fuel system that set an engine's idling speed

vi.

idled, idling [< IDLE the adj.: parallel with OE idlian, to come to nothing, be useless]

1. to move slowly or aimlessly; loaf

2. to spend time unprofitably; be unemployed or inactive

3. to operate without transmitting power; esp., to operate a motor vehicle's engine while the vehicle is not moving

vt.

1. to waste; squander: usually with away [to idle away one's youth]

2. to cause (a motor, etc.) to idle

3. to cause to be inactive or unemployed

n.

the state or act of idling [an engine at idle]

SYN.- LOITER, VAIN

idleness

n.

idly

adv.