loiter

loiter
—loiterer, n. —loiteringly, adv.
/loy"teuhr/, v.i.
1. to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place: to loiter around the bus terminal.
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.
3. to waste time or dawdle over work: He loiters over his homework until one in the morning.
v.t.
4. to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usually fol. by away): to loiter away the afternoon in daydreaming.
[1300-50; ME loteren, loytren, perh. < MD loteren to stagger, totter; cf. D leuteren to dawdle]
Syn. 1. 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. 1-4. loaf. 2, 3. delay, tarry.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • loiter — loi·ter / lȯi tər/ vi: to remain in or hang around an area for no obvious purpose; specif: to linger aimlessly for the purpose of committing a crime a statute forbidding any person from loiter ing on school grounds Merriam Webster’s Dictionary… …   Law dictionary

  • Loiter — Loi ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Loitered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Loitering}.] [D. leuteren to delay, loiter; cf; Prov. G. lottern to be louse, lotter louse, slack, unsettled, vagrant, OHG. lotar.] 1. To be slow in moving; to delay; to linger; to be… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • loiter — ► VERB ▪ stand around or move without apparent purpose. ● loiter with intent Cf. ↑loiter with intent DERIVATIVES loiterer noun. ORIGIN perhaps from Dutch loteren wag about …   English terms dictionary

  • loiter — [loit′ər] vi. [ME loitren < MDu loteren (Du leuteren, to dawdle), akin to OE loddere, beggar < IE base * (s)leu , to hang loosely > SLEET, SLUR] 1. to linger in an aimless way; spend time idly: often with about 2. to walk or move slowly… …   English World dictionary

  • Loiter — may refer to: * loiter (flight) * Loitering …   Wikipedia

  • loiter — (v.) early 15c., idle one s time, dawdle over work, from M.Du. loteren be loose or erratic, shake, totter like a loose tooth or a sail in a storm; in modern Dutch, leuteren to delay, linger, loiter over one s work. Probably cognate with O.E.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • loiter — dawdle, lag, procrastinate, *delay Analogous words: tarry, linger, wait (see STAY) Contrasted words: hasten, hurry (see SPEED vb) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • loiter — [v] hang around; stroll amble, dabble, dally*, dawdle, delay, diddle, drag, flag, fritter away, get no place fast*, halt, hover, idle, lag, linger, loaf, loll, lounge, pass time, pause, poke, procrastinate, put off, ramble, saunter, shamble,… …   New thesaurus

  • loiter — loi•ter [[t]ˈlɔɪ tər[/t]] v. i. 1) to linger aimlessly or as if aimlessly in or about a place 2) to move in a slow, idle manner 3) to waste time or dawdle over work 4) to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usu. fol. by away): to loiter… …   From formal English to slang

  • loiter — verb 1) he loitered at bus stops Syn: linger, wait, skulk; loaf, lounge, idle, laze, waste time, lollygag; informal hang around; archaic tarry 2) they loitered along the river bank Syn: dawdle, dally …   Thesaurus of popular words

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