idle
/ˈaɪd(ə)l/ verb C2- To spend (time) in idleness; to waste; to consume.
- To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business. · to idle in an IRC channel
- Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
- To cause (an engine) to idle (run at a slow speed, or out of gear). · The driver idled his engine until the car finally stalled.
- To make (workers, students, etc) idle; to leave without work.
He/she/it idles · Past idled · Past participle idled · -ing form idling
Verb forms
- Base form
- idle
- He/she/it
- idles
- Past
- idled
- Past participle
- idled
- -ing form
- idling
From the library
“Sir,” replied he, “if you came to me with the idea of demanding satisfaction, you should have gone at once to the point, and not have entertained me with the idle conversation to which I have been patiently listening for the last half hour.
“You’ll have to learn to resist the fascination of Idle-whatever-you-call-it.
“And I wish my collection were larger for your benefit and my own credit; but I am an idle fellow; and though I have not many, I have more than I ever looked into.”
Those who chose to be idle certainly might.”
Other matches
Learn idle in real texts
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