idler C2+ Topic:People & Society US /ˈaɪdlər/ UK /ˈaɪdlə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a person who avoids work; also a freely rotating gear or pulley The idler lounged in the shade while others toiled in the field. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a person who avoids work;... loafersluggardslackerlayaboutlazybonesshirker ↔ Opposites workertoiler Word family Related forms idleidlenessidly Appears in Phrases (1) See all idler pulley a pulley used to guide or maintain tension in a belt Noun + noun Etymology AI details From idle + -er. Idle is from Old English idel ('empty, vain, useless'), from Proto-West-Germanic *idal. idel Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # idler **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈaɪdlər/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈaɪdlə/ ## Meanings 1. a person who avoids work; also a freely rotating gear or pulley ## Examples - The idler lounged in the shade while others toiled in the field. ## Synonyms - loafer - sluggard - slacker - layabout - lazybones - shirker ## Antonyms - worker - toiler ## Related Forms - idle - idleness - idly ## Roots and Affixes - Root: idel ## Etymology From idle + -er. Idle is from Old English idel ('empty, vain, useless'), from Proto-West-Germanic *idal. ## AI Etymology Idler is from idle + -er. Idle is from Old English idel ('empty, vain, useless'), from Proto-West-Germanic *idal. Important recorded forms include idel (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers a person who avoids work; also a freely rotating gear or pulley. The wider family includes related words such as idle, idleness, and idly. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown