loiter

loiter
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
v. i. linger, poke, dawdle, lag. See slowness.
II
(Roget's IV) v.
Syn. linger, linger idly, dawdle, dally, idle, lag, saunter, stroll, delay, shuffle, waste time, putter, procrastinate, traipse, shamble, pass time in idleness, loaf, lounge, tarry, fritter away time, loll, wait, hover, pause, dillydally, hang back, shilly-shally, amble, slacken, trail, drag, flag, ramble, laze along, hang around*, hang out*, let the grass grow under one's feet*; see also loaf 1 .
Ant. hurry*, hasten, stride along.
Syn.- loiter implies aimlessness or slowness of movement and may suggest a wasting of time in lingering or lagging [ to loiter around street corners ] ; dawdle implies a wasting of time over trifles or a frittering away of time that makes for slow progress [ to dawdle over a cup of tea ] ; dally suggests spending time in trifling or frivolous pursuits or in indecision; idle suggests habitual avoidance of work, or inactivity, indolence, etc. [ to idle away the hours ]
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) v.
hang around, linger, idle, lounge, tarry, hover, mill around, poke, *hang, loaf, vegetate, dawdle.
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb 1. To go or move slowly so that progress is hindered: dally, dawdle, delay, dilly-dally, drag, lag, linger, poke, procrastinate, tarry, trail. Idioms: drag one's feet (or heels), mark time, take one's time. See FAST. 2. To pass time without working or in avoiding work: bum1 (around), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk. Slang: diddle2, goldbrick, goof (off). See INDUSTRIOUS.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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  • loiter — loi·ter / lȯi tər/ vi: to remain in or hang around an area for no obvious purpose; specif: to linger aimlessly for the purpose of committing a crime a statute forbidding any person from loiter ing on school grounds Merriam Webster’s Dictionary… …   Law dictionary

  • Loiter — Loi ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Loitered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Loitering}.] [D. leuteren to delay, loiter; cf; Prov. G. lottern to be louse, lotter louse, slack, unsettled, vagrant, OHG. lotar.] 1. To be slow in moving; to delay; to linger; to be… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • loiter — ► VERB ▪ stand around or move without apparent purpose. ● loiter with intent Cf. ↑loiter with intent DERIVATIVES loiterer noun. ORIGIN perhaps from Dutch loteren wag about …   English terms dictionary

  • loiter — [loit′ər] vi. [ME loitren < MDu loteren (Du leuteren, to dawdle), akin to OE loddere, beggar < IE base * (s)leu , to hang loosely > SLEET, SLUR] 1. to linger in an aimless way; spend time idly: often with about 2. to walk or move slowly… …   English World dictionary

  • Loiter — may refer to: * loiter (flight) * Loitering …   Wikipedia

  • loiter — (v.) early 15c., idle one s time, dawdle over work, from M.Du. loteren be loose or erratic, shake, totter like a loose tooth or a sail in a storm; in modern Dutch, leuteren to delay, linger, loiter over one s work. Probably cognate with O.E.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • loiter — dawdle, lag, procrastinate, *delay Analogous words: tarry, linger, wait (see STAY) Contrasted words: hasten, hurry (see SPEED vb) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • loiter — [v] hang around; stroll amble, dabble, dally*, dawdle, delay, diddle, drag, flag, fritter away, get no place fast*, halt, hover, idle, lag, linger, loaf, loll, lounge, pass time, pause, poke, procrastinate, put off, ramble, saunter, shamble,… …   New thesaurus

  • loiter — loiterer, n. loiteringly, adv. /loy teuhr/, v.i. 1. to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place: to loiter around the bus terminal. 2. to move in a slow, idle manner, making purposeless stops in the course of a trip, journey, errand …   Universalium

  • loiter — loi•ter [[t]ˈlɔɪ tər[/t]] v. i. 1) to linger aimlessly or as if aimlessly in or about a place 2) to move in a slow, idle manner 3) to waste time or dawdle over work 4) to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usu. fol. by away): to loiter… …   From formal English to slang

  • loiter — verb 1) he loitered at bus stops Syn: linger, wait, skulk; loaf, lounge, idle, laze, waste time, lollygag; informal hang around; archaic tarry 2) they loitered along the river bank Syn: dawdle, dally …   Thesaurus of popular words

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