GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 3 definitions

1.       
   Idle , a. [Compar. Idler ; superl. Idlest.] [OE. idel, AS. īdel vain, empty, useless; akin to OS. īdal, D. ijdel, OHG. ītal vain, empty, mere, G. eitel, Dan. & Sw. idel mere, pure, and prob. to Gr.  clear, pure,  to burn. Cf. Ether.]
   Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren. “Deserts idle.” 
   Shak.
   
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   Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
   Matt. xii. 36.
   
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   Down their idle weapons dropped.
   Milton.
   
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   This idle story became important.
   Macaulay.
   
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   Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
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   The idle spear and shield were high uphing.
   Milton.
   
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   Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen.
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   Why stand ye here all the day idle?
   Matt. xx. 6.
   
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   Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow.
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   Light-headed; foolish. [Obs.]
   Ford.
   
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   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.  -- 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.
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2.       
   Idle, 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.
   
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3.       
   Idle, v. t. To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; -- often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day.
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