Illustration of sloth
- sloth 2
plural sloths
ˈslȯths 
ˈslȯṯẖz,
ˈsläths,
ˈsläṯẖz
also ˈslōths,
ˈslōṯẖz
1
a
: disinclination to action or labor : indolence
b
: spiritual apathy and inactivity
the deadly sin of sloth
2
: any of various slow-moving arboreal edentate mammals (genera Bradypus and Choloepus) that inhabit tropical forests of South and Central America, hang from the branches back downward, and feed on leaves, shoots, and fruits compare three-toed sloth, two-toed sloth
Examples of sloth in a Sentence
the sins of gluttony and sloth
a youth inclined more toward sloth than athletics
Recent Examples on the Web
Tony, the resident sloth who was reliably hanging upside-down from the telephone wires above the entrance to the camp.
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Mar. 2026
Around dusk, the two climbers attached mechanical ascenders to it and, hanging upside down like tree sloths, made the long, slow traverse to my platform.
—Robert Moor, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Smaller, more sensitive mammals, like sloths, porcupines will be brought indoors and kept in a heated structure as well.
—Dan Peck, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2026
It's become the boy who cried wolf, bear, moose, badger, wombat, elephant, natterjack toad, mandrel, meerkat, blue whale, lesser skink, prairie dog, ferret, wildebeest, dingo, tree kangaroo, sloth, anteater, blue-footed booby, Norwegian Blue, and half the catalog in the Museum of Natural History.
—New Atlas, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sloth
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Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Mar. 2026
Around dusk, the two climbers attached mechanical ascenders to it and, hanging upside down like tree sloths, made the long, slow traverse to my platform.
—Robert Moor, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Smaller, more sensitive mammals, like sloths, porcupines will be brought indoors and kept in a heated structure as well.
—Dan Peck, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2026
It's become the boy who cried wolf, bear, moose, badger, wombat, elephant, natterjack toad, mandrel, meerkat, blue whale, lesser skink, prairie dog, ferret, wildebeest, dingo, tree kangaroo, sloth, anteater, blue-footed booby, Norwegian Blue, and half the catalog in the Museum of Natural History.
—New Atlas, 24 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sloth
Cite this Entry
“Sloth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sloth. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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