01 a. Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren.
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2.
Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.“The idle spear and shield were high uphing.” — Milton.
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3.
Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen.“Why stand ye here all the day idle?” — Matt. xx. 6.
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4.
Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow.
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5.
Light-headed; foolish.[Obs.]
Phrases & compounds
Idle pulley —
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 —
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.
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.