loiter

[loi-ter]

verb (used without object)

1. to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place.

   to loiter around the bus terminal.

   Synonyms: loaf

2. to move in a slow, idle manner, making purposeless stops in the course of a trip, journey, errand, etc..

   to loiter on the way to work.

   Synonyms: tarry, delay, loaf

3. to waste time or dawdle over work.

   He loiters over his homework until one in the morning.

   Synonyms: tarry, delay, loaf

verb (used with object)

1. to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usually followed byaway ).

   to loiter away the afternoon in daydreaming.

   Synonyms: loaf

loiter

/ ˈlɔɪtə /

verb

1. (intr) to stand or act aimlessly or idly

Other Word Forms

• loitering noun
• loiterer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of loiter¹

First recorded before 1300–50; Middle English loteren, loytren, perhaps from Middle Dutch loteren “to stagger, totter”; compare Dutch leuteren “to dawdle”

Word History and Origins

Origin of loiter¹

C14: perhaps from Middle Dutch löteren to wobble: perhaps related to Old English lūtian to lurk

Synonym Study

Loiter, dally, dawdle, idle imply moving or acting slowly, stopping for unimportant reasons, and in general wasting time. To loiter is to linger aimlessly: to loiter outside a building. To dally is to loiter indecisively or to delay as if free from care or responsibility: to dally on the way home. To dawdle is to saunter, stopping often, and taking a great deal of time, or to fritter away time working in a halfhearted way: to dawdle over a task. To idle is to move slowly and aimlessly, or to spend a great deal of time doing nothing: to idle away the hours.

Example Sentences

They stopped people in their vehicles and on the street, sometimes loitering around schools.

From Los Angeles Times

Today, people who live near the power lines complain of dust, litter and loitering, and worry about wires falling in high winds and storms.

From Los Angeles Times

A small, wiry, pockmarked young man with curly hair and a hard-to-place accent, he loitered in the area for hours, asking kitchen workers if his target would be coming that way.

From Los Angeles Times

You may find yourself loitering near the kitchen island, pretending to study a hanging pothos while calculating whether it’s worth another scoop.

From Salon

Burbank police officers were dispatched to a Nordstrom Rack on North Victory Place after a report of someone loitering in the women’s department.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amble 
• dawdle 
• linger 
• loll 
• lounge 
• ramble 
• saunter 
• traipse