Idler

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Idle \I"dle\, a. [Compar. {Idler}; superl. {Idlest}.] [OE. idel,
     AS. [imac]del vain, empty, useless; akin to OS. [imac]dal, D.
     ijdel, OHG. [imac]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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall
              give account thereof in the day of judgment. --Matt.
                                                    xii. 36.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Down their idle weapons dropped.      --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              This idle story became important.     --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate
        use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The idle spear and shield were high uphing.
                                                    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing
        nothing; as, idle workmen.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Why stand ye here all the day idle?   --Matt. xx. 6.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy;
        slothful; as, an idle fellow.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. Light-headed; foolish. [Obs.] --Ford.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
            [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Idler \I"dler\, n.
     1. One who idles; one who spends his time in inaction; a lazy
        person; a sluggard.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Naut.) One who has constant day duties on board ship, and
        keeps no regular watch. --Totten.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Mach.) An idle wheel or pulley. See under {Idle}. Idless

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  idler
       n : person who does no work; "a lazy bum" [syn: {loafer}, {do-nothing},
            {layabout}, {bum}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  93 Moby Thesaurus words for "idler":
     Arab, beach bum, beachcomber, beggar, bo, bum, bummer, bungler,
     clock watcher, dallier, dawdle, dawdler, diddler, dillydallier,
     disregarder, do-nothing, dodger, dogie, dolittle, doodler, drone,
     faineant, gamin, gamine, gentleman of leisure, goldbrick,
     goldbricker, goof-off, guttersnipe, hobo, homeless waif, ignorer,
     laggard, landloper, lazybones, lazzarone, lingerer, loafer,
     loiterer, loller, losel, lotus-eater, lounge lizard, lounger,
     lubber, malingerer, mope, moper, mudlark, neglecter, negligent,
     piker, potterer, procrastinator, putterer, ragamuffin, ragman,
     ragpicker, rounder, shirker, ski bum, slacker, slouch, sloucher,
     sloven, slug, slugabed, sluggard, slut, stick-in-the-mud, stiff,
     stray, street Arab, street urchin, sundowner, surf bum, swagman,
     swagsman, tatterdemalion, tennis bum, time killer, time waster,
     tramp, trifler, turnpiker, urchin, vag, vagabond, vagrant, waif,
     waifs and strays, waiter on Providence, wastrel