LAYABOUT Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

layabout

noun

ˈlā-ə-ˌbau̇t

Definition of layabout

as in slug

a lazy person she regretted ever asking that layabout to be her roommate, as he created the mess of two people and refused to help with anything

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of layabout As the story begins, Mary and Boo are neighbors, unemployed millennial layabouts who rarely leave their rooms. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026 Tamma’s mother is partnered with a drug-dealing layabout; Dan’s mother, a onetime successful novelist, has a worsening heart condition. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026 Not surprisingly, some colonists preferred to be layabouts. — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 27 Nov. 2025 Moore’s then-husband Bruce Willis plays against-type as the abusive layabout husband of hairdresser Joyce (Glenne Headly). — Katie Rife, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for layabout

Recent Examples of Synonyms for layabout

Noun

The live-by-the-slug, die-by-the-slug Dodgers have hit zero home runs in the NLCS.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
These beneficial predators spend the winter under leaves, emerging in spring to feed on common garden pests such as aphids, slugs and mites.

— Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of slug

Noun

But Wang has incorporated drones and AI into his family’s farm in an effort to modernize and economize the work.

— Rafi Schwartz, TheWeek, 21 Oct. 2026
In other developments, Russia unleashed another missile and drone blitz on civilian areas in Ukraine, killing at least nine people, officials said, as Zelenskyy sought more American and European help.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of drone

Noun

Carl Sandburg’s 1927 American Songbag featured a whole section of hobo songs presenting the bum as a beau ideal.

— Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026
The silhouette was heavily elongated, with three-quarter-length jackets and argyle knitwear that covered the bum.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of bum

Noun

In the film Rap World (which Bensinger also edited), Bensinger, O’Malley, and Rahill play suburban deadbeats eager to make an album, each man waylaid by his own hubris and distractions.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
In the fight for the right to be yourself, there are a lot of barriers to being accepted as a female deadbeat.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of deadbeat

Noun

Their name exudes the essence of an idler and slacker, but women’s loafers themselves are quite the opposite.

— Gaby Keiderling, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Jan. 2023
This represents the loss of an idea of what the capital should represent, the removal of a place that was an idler’s haven.

— Anandi Mishra, The Atlantic, 30 July 2022

Definition of idler

Noun

Now, researchers studying Japanese land snails have identified a gene that helps determine whether their shells coil clockwise or counterclockwise, offering new clues into how animals develop their left and right sides.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
These under-eye saviors revitalize tired-looking eyes with eight firming peptides and snail mucin to deliver a deep boost of hydration.

— Vivien Lee, InStyle, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of snail

Noun

Scar then proceeds to desolate the kingdom, with the help of hyenas, while Simba, in exile, grows up to become a pleasure-hunting, grub-eating sluggard.

— Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 19 July 2019
Clearly, supervision at your job is lax, and your sluggard classmate is taking advantage of that.

— Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017

Definition of sluggard

Noun

The results suggest that the RTX Spark's gaming ambitions, while no slouch, are a welcome extra rather than a first-line reason to buy one of these machines.

— Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 17 Oct. 2026
The Indians are no slouches on the defensive side either with Sedrick Marsh (Kansas State), linebacker Carmelo Clawson and safety JayQuan Snell (Texas A&M).

— Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of slouch

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“Layabout.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layabout. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of layabout

noun

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