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Idle

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idle¹

  • /ˈaɪd(ə)l/
  • /ˈʌɪdəl/

Sounds like idol, idyll, idyl (US pronunciation) · Rhymes with -aɪdəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English īdel, from Proto-West Germanic *īdl, from Proto-Germanic *īdlaz. Cognate with Dutch ijdel (“vain, meaningless”), ijl (“rareified, skinny”), iel (“thin, slender”); German Low German iedel (“vain, idle”); German eitel (“vain, conceited”); and possibly Old Norse illr ("bad"; > English ill).

adjective more idle · most idle

  1. obsolete Empty, vacant.
  2. Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity. idle hours
  3. Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular. idle workmen
  4. Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful. an idle fellow
  5. Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly. an idle story;  idle talk;  idle rumor;  idle threats;  idle pleasures
  6. obsolete Light-headed; foolish. The youth is idle

idle²

  • /ˈaɪd(ə)l/
  • /ˈʌɪdəl/

Sounds like idol, idyll, idyl (US pronunciation) · Rhymes with -aɪdəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English idelen, from Old English īdlian, from Proto-West Germanic *īdlēn. Cognate with German eiteln (“to make empty, free up”).

verb idles · idling · idled

  1. transitive To spend (time) in idleness; to waste; to consume. […] the ne'er-do-anything-at-home who idled his day in immaculate attire and who was banished to Canada on a "remittance," shares his pork and beans with the sourdough, who has scratched rocks and sifted black sand from his infancy.
  2. intransitive To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business. to idle in an IRC channel
  3. intransitive Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over. When train heating is in operation the diesel engine is arranged to idle at 550 r.p.m. which is the minimum at which the generator will deliver its full rated output.
  4. transitive 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.
  5. transitive To make (workers, students, etc) idle; to leave without work. [L]ayoffs idled 1,900 workers in Ohio and 1,000 in Indiana. At the same time, an Indiana assembly plant recalled 1,200 workers.

idle³

  • /ˈaɪd(ə)l/
  • /ˈʌɪdəl/

Sounds like idol, idyll, idyl (US pronunciation) · Rhymes with -aɪdəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English īdel (“idleness”), from the adjective (see above).

noun idles

  1. The state of idling, of being idle.
  2. The lowest selectable thrust or power setting of an engine. a lumpy idle
  3. An idle animation.
  4. An idle game.

Idle⁴

proper noun Idles

  1. countable, uncountable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable A suburb in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE1737).
  3. countable, uncountable A river, the River Idle in Nottinghamshire, England, which flows into the River Trent.

IDLE⁵

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Integrated DeveLopment Environment.Integrated DeveLopment Environment
  2. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Integrated Development and Learning Environment.Integrated Development and Learning Environment
  3. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of indolent lesion of epithelial origin.indolent lesion of epithelial origin

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