as in lingered
to move or act slowly
don't loiter in this neighborhood after dark
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Recent Examples of loitered
At the start of that brief official visit, his first, five military-grade drones loitered dangerously near Dublin Airport’s busiest civilian flight paths unopposed.
—
Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The hotel is a short walk from the Jericho Tavern, where Radiohead played its first gig, in 1986, and around the corner from a now shuttered HMV, in whose aisles Donwood and Yorke once loitered, scouting the competition.
—Zoe Si, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025
The drones also loitered above an Irish Navy vessel that had secretly deployed for Zelensky's visit.
—Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
There, the crop continued to grow while white-faced ibis and killdeer birds loitered around the water.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The hotel is a short walk from the Jericho Tavern, where Radiohead played its first gig, in 1986, and around the corner from a now shuttered HMV, in whose aisles Donwood and Yorke once loitered, scouting the competition.
—Zoe Si, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025
The drones also loitered above an Irish Navy vessel that had secretly deployed for Zelensky's visit.
—Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
There, the crop continued to grow while white-faced ibis and killdeer birds loitered around the water.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loitered
Verb
-
The crowd of students that had flooded into Klyde Warren Park was gradually dispersing; some returned to the classroom and others lingered around the greenery.—
Jessica Ma,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The Twin Earth, from Jaio Studios, lingered in the memory with its stylistic animation about the discovery of another, happier Earth.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The first hearing for Campillo’s new proposal was delayed from November because the Rules Committee fell short of a quorum before the proposal could be debated.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Federal agencies halted overdose-surveillance networks, delayed youth smoking data, scaled back food-safety pathogen monitoring and purged transgender health information from websites.—
Mike Stobbe,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Russian soldiers twice threatened to kill him, including an instance where he and a friend were dragged off the street by soldiers.—
Yuras Karmanau,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
If your suitcase is also looking a little worse for wear after being dragged through snowy sidewalks all winter, now is a good time to invest in new luggage.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
One live roach crawled on the floor in front of a storage rack with seasoning and cans.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Maybe the girl had crawled under a neighbor's trailer while playing hide-and-seek.—
Kristine Phillips,
IndyStar,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Loamy soil keeps its shape but crumbles easily when poked.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The sheet cake is poked with the handle end of a wooden spoon, creating big holes into which the lemon Jell-o (the glaze) was poured.—
Carolynn Carreño,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Chinese street fairs in Moscow People sampled Chinese cuisine from stalls and strolled along snowy streets decorated with red lanterns and dragons as two weeks of events got underway Monday at various venues in the Russian capital.—
Ken Moritsugu,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
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People sampled Chinese cuisine from stalls and strolled along snowy streets decorated with red lanterns and dragons as two weeks of events got underway Monday at various venues in the Russian capital.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Loitered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loitered. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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