- (intransitive) to stand or act aimlessly or idly
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
loi•ter /ˈlɔɪtɚ/USA pronunciation
v. [no object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to remain in an area without obvious purpose;
hang around:two men loitering suspiciously by the entrance to the hotel.
loi•ter
(loi′tər),USA pronunciation v.i.
v.t.
loi′ter•er, n.
loi′ter•ing•ly, adv.
- to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place:to loiter around the bus terminal.
- 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.
- to waste time or dawdle over work:He loiters over his homework until one in the morning.
v.t.
- to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usually fol. by away):to loiter away the afternoon in daydreaming.
- Middle Dutch loteren to stagger, totter; compare Dutch leuteren to dawdle
- Middle English loteren, loytren, perh. 1300–50
loi′ter•ing•ly, adv.
- 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.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
loiter /ˈlɔɪtə/ vb
'loiter' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):