Need another word that means the same as “loiter”? Find 26 synonyms and 30 related words for “loiter” in this overview.
Table Of Contents:
The synonyms of “Loiter” are: footle, hang around, lallygag, linger, loaf, lollygag, lounge, lurk, mess about, mill about, mill around, tarry, potter, wait, skulk, dawdle, dally, stroll, saunter, loll, go slowly, take one's time, go at a snail's pace, move at a snail's pace, drag one's feet, delay
Loiter as a Verb
Definitions of "Loiter" as a verb
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “loiter” as a verb can have the following definitions:
- Stand or wait around without apparent purpose.
- Walk slowly and with no apparent purpose; dawdle.
- Be about.
Synonyms of "Loiter" as a verb (26 Words)
dally | Talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions. Get busy don t dally. |
dawdle | Take one’s time; proceed slowly. Ruth dawdled back through the wood. |
delay | Cause to be slowed down or delayed. Don t delay your application to graduate school or else it won t be considered. |
drag one's feet | Persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting. |
footle | Act foolishly, as by talking nonsense. Where's that pesky creature that was footling about outside? |
go at a snail's pace | Be sounded, played, or expressed. |
go slowly | Follow a procedure or take a course. |
hang around | Be menacing, burdensome, or oppressive. |
lallygag | Be about. |
linger | Remain present although waning or gradually dying. The tradition seems to linger on. |
loaf | Be lazy or idle. |
loll | Be lazy or idle. The boy lolled out his tongue. |
lollygag | Be about. She goes to Arizona every January to lollygag in the sun. |
lounge | Be about. Several students were lounging about reading papers. |
lurk | (of an unpleasant quality) be present in a latent or barely discernible state, although still presenting a threat. Danger lurks beneath the surface. |
mess about | Eat in a mess hall. |
mill about | Grind with a mill. |
mill around | Roll out (metal) with a rolling machine. |
move at a snail's pace | Live one’s life in a specified environment. |
potter | Occupy oneself in a desultory but pleasant way. I might potter into Nice for the day. |
saunter | Walk leisurely and with no apparent aim. Adam sauntered into the room. |
skulk | Avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill. Don t skulk outside the door like a spy. |
stroll | Walk in a leisurely way. The horse strolled home by 12 lengths. |
take one's time | Be capable of holding or containing. |
tarry | Leave slowly and hesitantly. |
wait | Wait before acting. He found the train waiting on the platform. |
Usage Examples of "Loiter" as a verb
- The weather had tempted them to loiter along the banks of the Cherwell.
- She saw Mary loitering near the cloakrooms.
- The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square.
Associations of "Loiter" (30 Words)
behind | A kick that sends the ball over a behind line or a touch that sends it between the inner posts scoring one point. My watch is running behind. |
continue | Continue after an interruption. The Archive has continued its programme of research. |
dally | Consider not very seriously. Get busy don t dally. |
dawdle | Waste time; be slow. Ruth dawdled back through the wood. |
delay | An electronic device which introduces a delay especially in an audio signal. A two hour delay. |
flophouse | A cheap lodging house. They are living in a flophouse and discovering that the streets are not paved with gold. |
hover | Move to and fro. If you hover over the video it will play a preview with sound. |
lag | Cover with lagging to prevent heat loss. Lag pipes. |
latency | The state of existing but not yet being developed or manifest; concealment. The latency of tumours in mice. |
levitate | Cause to rise in the air and float, as if in defiance of gravity. The magician levitated the woman. |
linger | Stay in a place longer than necessary because of a reluctance to leave. She lingered over her meal. |
lingering | Lasting for a long time or slow to end. A painful and lingering death. |
lurk | Lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner. A ruthless killer still lurked in the darkness. |
onwards | In a forward direction. |
persevere | Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success. His family persevered with his treatment. |
persist | Be persistent refuse to stop. If the symptoms persist for more than a few days then contact your doctor. |
pitchy | Like or as dark as pitch. |
procrastinate | Delay or postpone action; put off doing something. He did not want to write the letter and procrastinated for days. |
remain | Stay the same remain in a certain state. Carter remains the only President in recent history under whose Presidency the U S did not fight a war. |
reside | Have one’s permanent home in a particular place. She resides in Princeton. |
residual | A quantity remaining after other things have been subtracted or allowed for. Residual stenosis. |
rest | Rest on or as if on a pillow. He rested his bad leg. |
slowdown | The act of slowing down or falling behind. A traffic slowdown in the passing lane. |
sojourn | Spend a certain length of time; reside temporarily. She had sojourned once in Egypt. |
stay | A period of staying somewhere in particular of living somewhere temporarily as a visitor or guest. They had a nice stay in Paris. |
tarry | Leave slowly and hesitantly. A length of tarry rope. |
time | One s lifetime. This is the first time I have got into debt. |
timeless | Unaffected by time. Helen s timeless beauty. |
unaltered | Remaining in an original state. Persisting unaltered through time. |
unchanged | Not made or become different. An unchanged side for tonight s home game. |