as in lounging
to spend time doing nothing
she likes to idle during the summer and recharge herself for the fall semester we idled away the evening relaxing around the campfire
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of idling
Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 18 Nov. 2025
Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Think of children waiting at bus stops as the wind snapped trees, or parents idling in carpool lines as the tornado warning notifications blared on their phones.
—Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 22 Mar. 2026
This shuts off the engine at stoplights or when idling, and restarts it once the accelerator is pressed.
—ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Large traffic volumes have resulted in Chinatown becoming an epicenter of poor air quality due to idling cars.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
Nearly 40 million barrels of oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela are on vessels idling near the country, up by more than 17% from the week before the conflict erupted, according to Kpler.
—Bloomberg, 9 Mar. 2026
Supply bottlenecks have been exacerbated by recent refinery closures, including the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington in October and the idling and planned closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia, which reduced refining capacity in the state by close to 20%.
—Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Does idling your car really burn that much fuel?
—Ryley Amond, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
Two planes sat idling on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport late Wednesday night, both of them waiting on disparate groups of Spurs players and staffers.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Feb. 2026
Noun
There is no penalty associated with unattended idling in state statute, however, individual municipalities have ordinances in place with fines for the action.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 18 Nov. 2025
Verb
Other steps like keeping tires inflated, using A/C sparingly as needed, using cruise control, avoiding long idling, and servicing your vehicle regularly can also significantly help save fuel, GasBuddy recommends.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Think of children waiting at bus stops as the wind snapped trees, or parents idling in carpool lines as the tornado warning notifications blared on their phones.
—Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 22 Mar. 2026
This shuts off the engine at stoplights or when idling, and restarts it once the accelerator is pressed.
—ABC News, 16 Mar. 2026
Large traffic volumes have resulted in Chinatown becoming an epicenter of poor air quality due to idling cars.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
Nearly 40 million barrels of oil from Iran, Russia and Venezuela are on vessels idling near the country, up by more than 17% from the week before the conflict erupted, according to Kpler.
—Bloomberg, 9 Mar. 2026
Supply bottlenecks have been exacerbated by recent refinery closures, including the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington in October and the idling and planned closure of the Valero refinery in Benicia, which reduced refining capacity in the state by close to 20%.
—Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Does idling your car really burn that much fuel?
—Ryley Amond, CNBC, 17 Feb. 2026
Two planes sat idling on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport late Wednesday night, both of them waiting on disparate groups of Spurs players and staffers.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idling
Verb
-
The pair had been loafing for some time among a grove of apple trees on a private residence in Payson.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Within a few moments, an antlerless deer emerged, loafing along toward Ronnie, completely unalarmed.—
Jim Moore,
Outdoor Life,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
That 37% figure is encouraging for active families who want to build trips around hiking, cycling, or paddling rather than poolside lounging.—
Lauren Schuster,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The artists will also have indoor and outdoor lounging areas for them, their family, friends and guests.—
Joseph Hernandez
March 13,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology confirmed that octopuses are genuinely asleep during this active phase rather than simply resting, and that the state closely resembles REM sleep in vertebrates, including humans, per The Guardian.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The Okinawa researchers confirmed the animals are genuinely asleep during this phase, not simply resting and that the state closely resembles vertebrate REM sleep, per The Guardian.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Critics have argued that the lengthy intervals made the program less safe because teams could not improve and iterate quickly, the way commercial space companies like SpaceX do.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
26 Mar. 2026
-
In an alternative scenario, the cap would stay fixed in nominal dollar terms, in our examples at $100,000 or $70,000 sans bumps for the CPI, for 20 or 30 years, and after those intervals grow in tandem with wages.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Further, there’s no excuse for Congress to continue dawdling on farm policy.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Aug. 2025
-
Faster pit stops could also help unlock sales for electric two-wheelers, which have been slow to catch on due to dawdling charge times and limited riding range.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Mar. 2023
Verb
-
Thankfully, Janus Films will release Kurosawa’s bone-chilling short at IFC Center in New York City starting this weekend.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
25 Mar. 2026
-
At about midday Tuesday, the Puerto Vallarta resident posted an image of a plastic tub with what appeared to be a pinto spiny lobster chilling inside.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In the summer, strolling and biking along the four reservoirs completely reset my nervous system; in the winter, the water becomes a frozen playground where people of all ages build snowmen and figure skate to their heart’s content.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Mar. 2026
-
In videos from the summit, the robot can be seen mechanically strolling next to the first lady, even welcoming all in the room in several different languages and waving its hand.—
Bruna Horvath,
NBC news,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Its clear, shallow waters were pleasant to wade into after lazing under one of the scrubby trees on the sand.—
Lucy Handley,
CNBC,
15 Nov. 2025
-
And poor, engine‑damaging quality or not, the ersatz aviation fuel had to work only once to get a kamikaze plane up and away to hit one of the enemy warships now lazing about in the offing around the Home Islands, often close enough to be spotted from shore with the naked eye.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idling. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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