loiter

loi·ter

 (loi′tər)

intr.v. loi·tered, loi·ter·ing, loi·ters

1.

a. To stand idly about; linger without any purpose.

b. Law To violate a law or ordinance that prohibits persons from remaining in a given location without a clear purpose for an extended period of time, especially when behaving in a manner indicating a possible threat to persons or property in the vicinity.

2. To hover over or remain near an area: Fog loitered over the mountains. A jet loitered in the sky near the airbase.

3. To proceed slowly or with many stops: loitered all the way home.

4. To act slowly or with leisure; take one's time: "The organist loitered over the keys, making sure of his mastery of the coming Sabbath anthem" (O. Henry).

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[Middle English loitren, probably from Middle Dutch loteren, to totter, be loose.]

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loi′ter·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

loiter

(ˈlɔɪtə)

vb

(intr) to stand or act aimlessly or idly

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

ˈloiterer n

ˈloitering n, adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

loi•ter

(ˈlɔɪ tər)
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.

v.t.

4. to pass (time) in an idle or aimless manner (usu. fol. by away): to loiter away the afternoon in daydreaming.

[1300–50; Middle English loteren, loytren]

loi′ter•er, n.

loi′ter•ing•ly, adv.

syn: 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 time doing nothing: to idle away the hours.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

loiter

Past participle: loitered
Gerund: loitering

Imperative

loiter

loiter

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

loiter - be about; "The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square"; "Who is this man that is hanging around the department?" footle, hang around, lallygag, mess about, mill about, mill around, tarry, lollygag, lounge, lurk, linger, loaf be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" prowl, lurch - loiter about, with no apparent aim

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

loiter

verb linger, idle, loaf, saunter, delay, stroll, lag, dally, loll, dawdle, skulk, dilly-dally (informal), hang about or around unemployed young men loitering at the entrance to the factory.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

loiter

verb

1. To go or move slowly so that progress is hindered:

dally, dawdle, delay, dilly-dally, drag, lag, linger, poke, procrastinate, tarry, trail.

Idioms: drag one's feet, mark time, take one's time.

2. To pass time without working or in avoiding work:

bum (around), idle, laze, loaf, lounge, shirk.

Slang: diddle, goldbrick, goof (off).

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَتَوانى، يَتَلَكَّأ

lelkovat

drivehænge

bummelnherumlungerntrödeln

maleksiamuniaroikkuaseisoksia

flânertraîner

lézengácsorogálldogál

hanga, sniglast

bighellonaregingillarsigironzolareindugiare

stoviniuotivalkatauti ir priekabiauti

slaistīties

daffe

околачиватьсяошиватьсяторчатьшататься

postopati

aylak aylak gezmekdolanmak

徘徊消磨时光闲荡

loiter

[ˈlɔɪtəʳ] VI (= idle) → perder el tiempo; (= lag behind) → rezagarse; (= dally) → entretenerse
don't loiter on the way! → ¡no te entretengas!
to loiter (with intent) (Jur) → merodear con fines sospechosos or delictivos

loiter away VT + ADV to loiter away the time → perder el tiempo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

loiter

[ˈlɔɪtə^r] vi → s'attarder

loiter about

vi → rôder alentour

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

loiter

vi

(= waste time) → trödeln, bummeln

(= hang around suspiciously) → sich herumtreiben, herumlungern; “no loitering” → „unberechtigter Aufenthalt verboten“; to loiter with intent → sich verdächtig machen, sich auffällig verhalten

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

loiter

[ˈlɔɪtəʳ] vi (idle) → bighellonare; (lag behind) → attardarsi, fermarsi (ad ogni passo)
to loiter (about) → indugiare, bighellonare
to loiter (with intent) (Law) → aggirarsi (con intenzioni sospette)

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

loiter

(ˈloitə) verb

to proceed, work etc slowly or to stand doing nothing in particular. They were loitering outside the ship. draai, talm يَتَوانى، يَتَلَكَّأ разтакавам се demorar-se lelkovat trödeln drive; hænge χασομερώ rezagarse, entretenerse, perder el tiempo logelema وقت کشی کردن vetelehtiä traîner לְשוֹטֵט आवारा फिरना tumarati lézeng berkeliaran hanga, sniglast attardarsi, indugiare ぶらぶら歩く 하는 일 없이 시간을 보내다 stoviniuoti, slampinėti slaistīties melepak rondhangendrive, daffemarudzić ناوخته او سست كار كول demorar-se a zăbovi мешкать; бездельничать ponevierať sa postopati zamajavati se söla, dra benen efter sig, gå (köra) i sakta mak ปล่อยเวลาให้ผ่านไปโดยเปล่าประโยชน์ aylak aylak gezmek, dolanmak 閒逛，遊蕩 байдикувати, марнувати час ارد گرد منڈلانا lảng vảng 消磨时光，闲荡，徘徊

loitering noun

They were arrested for loitering (= moving around or waiting suspiciously in a public place); No loitering! draaiery, getalm, gedraal تَواني، تَلَكُّؤ скитане vadiagem lelkování, okounění herumlungern drive mistænkeligt omkring χασομέρι merodeo con intenciones criminales logelemine ولگردی؛ بطاالت asiaton oleskelu rôderשוטטות आवारागर्दी tumaranje ólálkodás berkeliaran vagabondaggio うろつくこと 빈둥거림 valkatauti ir priekabiauti (vieðoje vietoje) slaistīšanās melepak samenscholing det å oppholde seg ulovlig (opphold forbudt) كوڅه ډبتوب،د خلكو اذيت كول праздное шатание potulovanie sa, postávanie postopanje zamajavanje dagdriveri การเดินเตร็ดเตร่ aylaklık, başıboş dolaşma 閒逛，遊蕩 вештання з невизначеною метою بھٹکنا، منڈلانا đi lảng vảng 闲荡，徘徊

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.