do-nothings

noun

plural of do-nothing
1
as in slugs
a lazy person the new boss quickly figured out who the do-nothings were and fired them

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bums
an idle worthless person he indiscriminately dismisses the state legislators as a bunch of do-nothings who live at the taxpayers' expense

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for do-nothings
  1. slugs
  2. bums
  3. drones
  4. derelicts
  5. snails
  6. beggars
  7. deadbeats
  8. hoboes
Noun
  • Remember to bury the container deep enough to let the slugs in and out.
    — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Mulch also helps suppress weeds and dissuades strawberry pests like slugs.
    — Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of slugs
Noun
  • For families Apart from the family-sized villa estates and kid-friendly menus, Nihi has a host of activities that will please even the youngest beach bums.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The Coliseum stayed in business for 500 years, bums in seats twice a week, watching people hack each other to death.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
Definition of bums
Noun
  • An Israeli military source told CNN the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had gathered intelligence on Turkey’s plans to deploy personnel, drones and air-defense systems at the site.
    — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted and destroyed 351 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the waters of the Azov and the Black Seas.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of drones
Noun
  • Rational fears or no, the fact remains that the 24 acres of Bayfront Park belong right now to a few misfits and derelicts.
    — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of derelicts
Noun
  • At Carter Lake, boat inspection checkpoints are now looking for the snails in addition to other invasive species, such as zebra mussels.
    — Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Insects belong to the kingdom Animalia, along with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, octopuses, snails, jellyfish, worms, and many other groups.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of snails
Noun
  • Robert Pattinson’s big outburst in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ has gone viral—here’s the ‘beggars’ meme, explained.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • The War In times of peace, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) had hosted parties in their palace for all — even beggars were welcome.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
Definition of beggars
Noun
  • Housing prices and rents are inflated by restrictive zoning laws, union work and pay scale mandates, excessive building codes and environmental requirements, litigation and planning process delays, anti-landlord policies that favor deadbeats and squatters, and the list goes on.
    — Adam B. Summers, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Definition of deadbeats
Noun
  • The former, in which Burnett and Hamilton did a song-and-dance routine as Dust Bowl-era hobos, marked the first of several times that the two performed together.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
  • From oversized, slouchy hobos to structured East-West silhouettes and laptop-ready work totes, this season’s best suede bags deliver a luxurious polish that will elevate every fall wardrobe.
    — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
Definition of hoboes
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

do-nothing
do-nothings
Don Quixote
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Do-nothings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/do-nothings. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of devolve

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All