idle

idle

I

i·dle¹ /ˈaɪdl/ adjective1. not working or producing anything
   OPP  busy:
    I cannot afford to leave the land lying idle.
    The whole team stood idle, waiting for the mechanic.
    The workers have been idle for the last six months.
2. not serious, or not done with any definite intention:
    She was not a woman to make idle threats.
    idle chatter/talk/gossip etc
    It was only from idle curiosity that she went into the barn.
3. lazy:
    Go and wake up that idle brother of yours.
  REGISTER
    Idle sounds rather old-fashioned and literary. In everyday English, people usually say lazy:
   ▪ She's not stupid, just lazy.
4. it is idle to do something it is not worth doing something, because nothing will be achieved:
    It would be idle to deny that progress was made.
5. the idle rich rich people who do not have to work
—idleness noun [uncountable]
—idly adverb:
    They sat chatting idly.
    I cannot stand idly by and let him take the blame.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ lazy not liking work or physical activity, or not making any effort to do anything: a lazy student | You make your own breakfast! Don't be so lazy!
   ▪ idle lazy and not doing enough work. Idle sounds rather formal and is becoming old-fashioned. In everyday English, people usually use lazy: The beggars were too idle to look for work. | Her son was bone idle (=extremely lazy).
   ▪ indolent formal lazy and living a comfortable life: He spent an indolent first year at Oxford. | the indolent son of a wealthy landowner
   ▪ shiftless lazy and having no ambition to succeed or do anything useful with your life: her shiftless husband
   ▪ work-shy British English lazy and trying to avoid any work: He was work-shy, and no one could remember when he’d last held a job.
   ▪ slothful formal lazy and not liking physical activity: Her advice to slothful Americans is: ‘Get out there and walk!’

II

idle² verb
1. [intransitive] if an engine idles, it runs slowly while the vehicle, machine etc is not moving:
    He flicked a switch and let the boat idle.
2. [intransitive] to spend time doing nothing:
    Sometimes he went for a walk; sometimes he just idled.
3. [transitive] American English to stop using a factory or stop providing work for your workers, especially temporarily
   SYN  shut down:
    The company has idled a number of its US plants indefinitely.
     
idle something ↔ away phrasal verb
  to spend time in a relaxed way, doing nothing:
    They idled their time away in the pub.