idle /ˈaɪdḷ/
 (a.)空閒的,閒著的;懶散的,無所事事的;無效的虛度,空想;使空閒(vi.)懶散;空轉


 idle
 閒時


 idle
 閒置


 I·dle a. [Compar. Idler superl. Idlest.]
 1. Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren. “Deserts idle.”
    Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.   --Matt. xii. 36.
    Down their idle weapons dropped.   --Milton.
    This idle story became important.   --Macaulay.
 2. Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
    The idle spear and shield were high uphing.   --Milton.
 3. Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen.
    Why stand ye here all the day idle?   --Matt. xx. 6.
 4. Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow.
 5. Light-headed; foolish. [Obs.]
 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.”
 Syn: -- Unoccupied; unemployed; vacant; inactive; indolent; sluggish; slothful; useless; ineffectual; futile; frivolous; vain; trifling; unprofitable; unimportant.
 Usage: -- 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.


 I·dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Idled p. pr. & vb. n. Idling ] To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.


 I·dle, v. t. To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; -- often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day.

 ◄ ►


 idle
      adj 1: not in action or at work; "an idle laborer"; "idle
             drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind" [ant: busy]
      2: without a basis in reason or fact; "baseless gossip"; "the
         allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded
         suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy" [syn: baseless, groundless,
          unfounded, unwarranted]
      3: not in active use; "the machinery sat idle during the
         strike"; "idle hands" [syn: unused]
      4: silly or trivial; "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light
         idle chatter" [syn: light]
      5: lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; "idle talk";
         "a loose tongue" [syn: loose]
      6: not yielding a return; "dead capital"; "idle funds" [syn: dead]
      7: not having a job; "idle carpenters"; "jobless transients";
         "many people in the area were out of work" [syn: jobless,
          out of work]
      v 1: run disconnected or idle; "the engine is idling" [syn: {tick
           over] [ant: run]
      2: be idle; exist in a changeless situation; "The old man sat
         and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all
         morning" [syn: laze, slug, stagnate] [ant: work]