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

Trim back the dead foliage in fall to improve your garden’s appearance and prevent slug eggs from overwintering.

— Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Sep. 2026
Families can learn about slugs, spiders, vultures and more during Creepy Critters Month at the Knoch Knolls Nature Center, 320 Knoch Knolls Road, a park district news release said.

— Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of slug

Noun

Asif said the Houthis had intensified missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and expanded their control along Yemen's Red Sea coast.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
The drone remains a prototype, and the competition demonstrated its payload-carrying capability rather than establishing its readiness for operational deployment.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of drone

Noun

The silhouette was heavily elongated, with three-quarter-length jackets and argyle knitwear that covered the bum.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
Within the often zany and slapstick realm of Bob’s Burgers, Tina still manages to steal the show with her singular voice, romantic fantasies, and obsessions with unicorns and boy bums.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 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

The inflatable horses, butterflies, snails and other creatures were made by the New York artist and designer Katie Stout.

— Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026
Aquarium officials received some 500 marine animals from that operation on June 19, taking in an array of fish, sharks, clams, shrimp, prawns and tiny snails.

— John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 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

My go-to is a pair of Aritzia Effortless Pants, sized up for a little bit of slouch.

— Kaitlin Clapinski, InStyle, 20 Sep. 2026
The 29-year-old was no slouch either, racking up 22 goals and 17 assists in 44 games across the Bundesliga and Champions League.

— Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of slouch

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“Layabout.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layabout. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of layabout

noun

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