Word of the Day: Idle
A person or a thing that is idle is not moving or is not busy.
- When the manager of the store noticed that several of his employees were idle, he gave them work to do.
- The plant had too many idle employees during the recession, so they were laid off.
- Farmers let their fields go idle in order to restore nutrients to the soil.
- That empty store has been idle for years.
- Idle inventory at a store is marked down until it finally sells. (marked down = priced is reduced)
- Boredom is the result of an idle mind.
- Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. (This is a kind of an expression. It means that people who are not busy may be attracted to bad behavior.)
When the word “idle” is used as a verb, it’s often in reference to a car that has its engine running, but it’s not moving.
- In the winter, Dan lets his car idle for about five minutes before he drives it.
- Cars that idle for too long are ticketed by the police because they pollute the air.
- A thief stole a car that was idling outside of a gas station. It was easy to steal because the keys were in the ignition.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with I page to see the list of all words starting with letter I. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
