What does idle mean?
Definitions for idle
ˈaɪd lidle
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word idle.
Princeton's WordNet
idleadjective
the state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling
"the car engine was running at idle"
idleadjective
not in action or at work
"an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind"
baseless, groundless, idle, unfounded, unwarranted, wildadjective
without a basis in reason or fact
"baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy"
idle, unusedadjective
not in active use
"the machinery sat idle during the strike"; "idle hands"
idle, lightadjective
silly or trivial
"idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter"
idle, looseadjective
lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
"idle talk"; "a loose tongue"
dead, idleadjective
not yielding a return
"dead capital"; "idle funds"
idle, jobless, out of workverb
not having a job
"idle carpenters"; "jobless transients"; "many people in the area were out of work"
idle, tick oververb
run disconnected or idle
"the engine is idling"
idle, laze, slug, stagnateverb
be idle; exist in a changeless situation
"The old man sat and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all morning"
Wiktionary
idleverb
To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
idleverb
To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
idleverb
Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick-over.
idleadjective
Empty, vacant.
idleadjective
Not turned to appropriate use; not occupied.
idleadjective
Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing.
idle workmen
idleadjective
Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
an idle fellow
idleadjective
Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
an idle story; idle talk; idle rumor
Etymology: idel, from West *. Cognate with Dutch ijdel, German eitel.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
IDLEadjective
Etymology: yðel, Saxon.
For shame, so much to do, and yet idle. George Bull.
For often have you writ to her; and she in modesty,
Or else for want of idle time, could not again reply. William Shakespeare.No war or battle's sound
Was heard the world around,
The idle spear and shield were high up hung. John Milton.Children generally hate to be idle; all the care then is, that their busy humour should be constantly employed in something of use to them. John Locke.
Supposing, among a multitude embarked in the same vessel, there are several that, in the fury of a tempest, will rather perish than work for their preservation; would it not be madness in the rest to stand idle, and rather chuse to sink than do more than comes to their share? Addison.
They astonish'd, all resistance lost,
All courage; down their idle weapons dropp'd. John Milton.And threatning France, plac'd like a painted Jove,
Held idle thunder in his lifted hand. Dryden.Where was then
The power that guards the sacred lives of kings?
Why slept the lightning and the thunderbolts,
Or bent their idle rage on fields and trees,
When vengeance call'd 'em here? John Dryden, Spanish Fryar.Suffice it then, thou money god, quoth he,
That all thine idle offers I refuse;
All that I need I have: what needeth me
To covet more than I have cause to use? Fairy Queen.Of antres vast, and desarts idle,
It was my hent to speak. William Shakespeare, Othello.The murmuring surge,
That on th' unnumber'd idle pebbles chases,
Cannot be heard so high. William Shakespeare, King Lear.He was met even now,
Crown'd with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds,
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow
In our sustaining corn. William Shakespeare, King Lear.This answer is both idle in regard of us, and also repugnant to themselves. Richard Hooker.
They are not, in our estimation, idle reproofs, when the authors of needless innovations are opposed with such negatives, as that of Leo: how are these new devices brought in, which our fathers never knew? Richard Hooker, b. ii.
His friend smil'd scornful, and, with proud contempt,
Rejects as idle what his fellow dreamt. Dryden.An idle reason lessens the weight of the good ones you gave before. Jonathan Swift.
How ill he wishes to recall the precious hours he has spent in trifles, and loitered away in idle unprofitable diversions. John Rogers, Sermons.
To Idleverb
To lose time in laziness and inactivity.
Etymology: from the adjective.
Yet free from this poetick madness,
Next page he says, in sober sadness,
That she and all her fellow-gods
Sit idling in their high abodes. Matthew Prior.
Wikipedia
IDLE
IDLE (short for Integrated Development and Learning Environment) is an integrated development environment for Python, which has been bundled with the default implementation of the language since 1.5.2b1. It is packaged as an optional part of the Python packaging with many Linux distributions. It is completely written in Python and the Tkinter GUI toolkit (wrapper functions for Tcl/Tk). IDLE is intended to be a simple IDE and suitable for beginners, especially in an educational environment. To that end, it is cross-platform, and avoids feature clutter.
ChatGPT
IDLE
IDLE stands for Integrated Development and Learning Environment. It is a software application that provides a user-friendly interface and features for developers to write, run and debug code easily. IDLE is commonly used for Python programming language and includes features such as syntax highlighting, code completion, and a Python shell for interactive programming.
Webster Dictionary
Idle
of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren
Idle
not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours
Idle
not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen
Idle
given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow
Idle
light-headed; foolish
Idleverb
to lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business
Idleverb
to spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; -- often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day
Wikidata
Idle
Idle is a term which generally refers to a lack of motion and/or energy.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Idle
ī′dl, adj. vain: trifling: unemployed: averse to labour: not occupied: useless: unimportant: unedifying.—v.t. to spend in idleness.—v.i. to be idle or unoccupied.—adj. I′dle-head′ed, foolish.—ns. I′dlehood, I′dleness; I′dler; Id′lesse, idleness; I′dle-wheel, a wheel placed between two others simply for transferring the motion from one to the other without changing the direction.—n.pl. I′dle-worms, once jocularly supposed to be bred in the fingers of lazy maid-servants.—adv. I′dly. [A.S. idel; Dut. ijdel, Ger. eitel.]
The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz
IDLE
Useless. IDOLIZE To make useless.
Suggested Resources
idle
Song lyrics by idle -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by idle on the Lyrics.com website.
IDLE
What does IDLE stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the IDLE acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
IDLE
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Idle is ranked #47006 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Idle surname appeared 452 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Idle.
85.6% or 387 total occurrences were White.
8.4% or 38 total occurrences were Black.
3.9% or 18 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1.5% or 7 total occurrences were of two or more races.
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for idle »
lied
deli
diel
lide
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of idle in Chaldean Numerology is: 4
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of idle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Examples of idle in a Sentence
Laughing is peculiar to man, but all men do not laugh for the same reason. There is the attic salt which springs from the charm in the words, from the flash of wit, from the spirited and brilliant sally. There is the low joke which arises from scurrility and idle conceit.
A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.
All [zoos] actually offer to the public in return for the taxes spent upon them is a form of idle and witless amusement, compared to which a visit to a penitentiary, or even to a State legislature in session, is informing, stimulating and ennobling.
To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.
Oil comes with its own hype. This investment seems to be way ahead of its time, these investors won't find enough business activity to support them right away. We'll have idle capacity.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for idle
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- عاطل عن العملArabic
- незаетBulgarian
- desocupat, inactiu, aturatCatalan, Valencian
- zahálet, nepotřebný, mrhat, volný, líný, neužitečný, nečinnýCzech
- überflüssig, nutzlos, müßig, untätigGerman
- άνεργος, οκνηρός, ανώφελος, αδρανής, άχρηστοςGreek
- ocioso, flojear, desocupado, vagabundoSpanish
- بیهودهPersian
- laiska, toimeton, maleksia, joutilas, joutava, [[olla]] [[joutokäynnillä]], olla vapaallaFinnish
- inutile, négligeable, fainéanter, fainéant, inactif, oisifFrench
- caithScottish Gaelic
- אבטלהHebrew
- henyél, tétlenHungarian
- girare al minimo, infingardo, vano, sciupare nell'ozio, pigro, oziare, in folle, girare a vuoto, ozioso, sprecare tempo, indolente, disoccupato, inattivo, inutile, perdere tempoItalian
- 暇Japanese
- 게으른Korean
- ōtiōsusLatin
- nietsdoend, inactief, nutteloos, ijdelDutch
- tomgangNorwegian
- leniwyPolish
- inapropriado, vagabundo, preguiçoso, ocioso, imprestável, desocupado, vazio, perder tempo, vão, desempregado, inútilPortuguese
- незанятыйRussian
- overksam, gå på tomgångSwedish
- zembeaSwahili
- boş, atılTurkish
Get even more translations for idle »
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