idler

[ ahyd-ler ]

noun

1. a person who passes time in a lazy or unproductive way.
2. Machinery. an idle gear, wheel, or pulley.
3. Railroads. an empty freight car placed under the projecting end of a long object carried by the next car, so that the latter can be connected with another part of the train.
4. Nautical. day man ( def 2 ).

idler

/ ˈaɪdlə /

noun

1. a person who idles
2. another name for idle pulley idle wheel
3. nautical a ship's crew member, such as a carpenter, sailmaker, etc, whose duties do not include standing regular watches

Word History and Origins

Origin of idler¹

First recorded in 1525–35; idle + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Ripley, a slacker and a con man grinding out a living in postwar New York, is sent to Italy to try to persuade a trust-funded idler to come home and take over the family business.

From New York Times

His parents were socialists and in the Idler interview Reid describes his family’s belief in “access to freedom of knowledge, education, the whole alternative movement in medicine and health, and health foods but they were as likely to be on trade union and suffragette rallies as be doing rituals at Stonehenge. It was all part and parcel, which is something I’ve really tried to continue myself.”

From Los Angeles Times

“To me it was like a whole peak of 20th Century culture. It’s never been surpassed,” he told Idler.

From Los Angeles Times

In a 2008 interview with the Idler, Reid explained his feelings about politics, protest and art in the late 1960s.

From Los Angeles Times

There is an almost continuous succession of scenes in which Nicholson sketches this idler, lover, jokester, manipulator, con man, gambler, loner.

From Los Angeles Times