footle

verb

foo·tle | \ ˈfü-tᵊl

\

footled; footling\ˈfü-tᵊl-iŋ,

ˈfüt-liŋ \

Definition of footle

intransitive verb

1 : to talk or act foolishly

2 : to waste time : trifle, fool

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Did You Know?

Footle may be an alteration of "footer," which an 1847 dictionary of archaic and provincial words says is a verb meaning "to idle." That word is connected with "fouter" (also spelled "foutra"), a word describing something of little value or someone worthless or bungling. But the link between "footle" and "footer" is speculative. What we can say with confidence is that "footle" is a verb of 19th century origin that-along with the adjective "footling" (as in "a footling amateur")-is still apt when discussing foolish or trifling people or things.

Examples of footle in a Sentence

spent the morning footling about while others were working

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Time Traveler for footle

The first known use of footle was in 1891

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