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75 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  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.
        [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.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  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.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  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.
     [1913 Webster]

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) : [ vera ]


  IDLE
       International Date Line, East [+1200] (TZ)

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) 2.0 : [ 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" [syn: tick
            over] [ant: run]
       2: be idle; exist in a changeless situation; "The old man sat
          and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all
          morning" [syn: laze, slug, stagnate] [ant: work]

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  idle
     Spanish vb.
     (es-verb form of: ir)

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  Idle
     n.
     1 (surname: en).
     2 (place en suburb in the City of city/Bradford co/West Yorkshire
  cc/England) (q: OS grid ref SE1737).
     3 {place|en|river|, the (w: River Idle)
  in|co/Nottinghamshire|cc/England|which flows into the
  River|river/Trent}.

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  IDLE
     n.
     1 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development DeveLopment) (l en environment
  Environment)}
     2 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development Development) (l en and) (l en learning
  Learning) (l en environment Environment)}
     3 (lb en pathology) (acronym of en indolent lesion of epithelial
  origin)

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]


  idle
     a.
     1 (lb en obsolete) empty, vacant.
     2 Not being used appropriately; not occupy; (of time) with no, no
  important, or not much activity.
     3 Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive;
  doing nothing in particular.
     4 averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
     5 Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless;
  silly.
     6 (lb en obsolete) Light-headed; foolish.
     vb.
     1 (lb en transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
     2 (lb en intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or
  without being employed in business.
     n.
     1 The state of #Verb, of being #Adjective.
     2 (lb en mechanical engineering) The lowest selectable thrust or
  power setting of an engine.
     3 (lb en gaming) An #Verb animation.
     4 (lb en gaming) An idle game.

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]


  Idle
     n.
     1 (surname: en).
     2 (place en suburb in the City of city/Bradford co/West Yorkshire
  cc/England) (q: OS grid ref SE1737).
     3 {place|en|river|, the (w: River Idle)
  in|co/Nottinghamshire|cc/England|which flows into the
  River|river/Trent}.

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]


  IDLE
     n.
     1 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development DeveLopment) (l en environment
  Environment)}
     2 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development Development) (l en and) (l en learning
  Learning) (l en environment Environment)}
     3 (lb en pathology) (acronym of en indolent lesion of epithelial
  origin)

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]


  idle
     Spanish vb.
     (es-verb form of: ir)

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]


  Idle
     n.
     1 (surname: en).
     2 (place en suburb in the City of city/Bradford co/West Yorkshire
  cc/England) (q: OS grid ref SE1737).
     3 {place|en|river|, the (w: River Idle)
  in|co/Nottinghamshire|cc/England|which flows into the
  River|river/Trent}.

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]


  IDLE
     n.
     1 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development DeveLopment) (l en environment
  Environment)}
     2 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development Development) (l en and) (l en learning
  Learning) (l en environment Environment)}
     3 (lb en pathology) (acronym of en indolent lesion of epithelial
  origin)

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]


  idle
     Spanish vb.
     (es-verb form of: ir)

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]


  Idle
     n.
     1 (surname: en).
     2 (place en suburb in the City of city/Bradford co/West Yorkshire
  cc/England) (q: OS grid ref SE1737).
     3 {place|en|river|, the (w: River Idle)
  in|co/Nottinghamshire|cc/England|which flows into the
  River|river/Trent}.

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]


  IDLE
     n.
     1 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development DeveLopment) (l en environment
  Environment)}
     2 (lb en programming Python) {initialism of|en|(l en integrated
  Integrated) (l en development Development) (l en and) (l en learning
  Learning) (l en environment Environment)}
     3 (lb en pathology) (acronym of en indolent lesion of epithelial
  origin)

From Finnish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-fi-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  idle
     Englanti a.
     1 joutilas
     2 joutava, turhanpäiväinen, merkityksetön
     3 toimeton
     4 (tekniikka: k=en) vapaakäyntinen
     Englanti vb.
     1 olla joutilas; vetelehtiä, laiskotella
     2 käydä joutokäynnillä
     3 maleksia

From Swedish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-sv-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  idle
     Engelska a.
     overksam, sysslolös
     Engelska vb.
     gå på tomgång

From English-Arabic FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.6.3 : [ freedict:eng-ara ]


  Idle /ˈaɪdəl/
  عاطل

From English-български език FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-bul ]


  idle //ˈaɪd(ə)l// 
  1. лени́в, мързели́в
  averse to work or labor
  2. безрабо́тен, неза́ет
  not engaged in any occupation or employment
  3. безде́ен
  not turned to appropriate use, not occupied, of time with little activity
  4. безполе́зен, напра́зен
  of no importance, worthless, useless

From English-български език FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-bul ]


  idle //ˈaɪd(ə)l// 
  1. безделнича, лентяйствам
  to lose or spend time doing nothing
  2. работя на празен ход
  to run at a slow speed, or out of gear