loaf
To do nothing, to be idleTo do nothing, to be idle.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» What's important is that the boss doesn't catch you loafing on the job.
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7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Examples
19 sentencesWhat's important is that the boss doesn't catch you loafing on the job.
Tom asked Mary to buy a loaf bread.
Tom was fired for loafing on the job.
Meaning
2 senses(intransitive)To do nothing, to be idle.
loaf about, loaf around
nichts tun, herumlungern, rumhängen
бездельничатьbezdelʹničatʹ
(Cockney, slang)To headbutt
- be lazy or idle
- be about a place without any apparent purpose
Origin
* From Middle English laf, lof, loof, from Old English hlāf (“bread; loaf”), from Proto-We* From Middle English laf, lof, loof, from Old English hlāf (“bread; loaf”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaib, from Proto-Germanic *hlaibaz (“bread; loaf”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Old English hlifian (“to stand out prominently, tower up”).
Probably a back-formation from loafer.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
loafs, loafing, loafed, loafedTenses
loaf · loafed · will loaf · have loafedPhrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsSynonyms
23 synonyms- be lazy or idle:bumbum aroundbum aboutfrig aroundwaste one's timelounge aroundlollloll around
- be about a place without any apparent purpose:loiterloungefootlelollygaglallygaghang aroundmess abouttarry
Word family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.