loiter
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To stand about without any aim or purpose.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
loyterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlɔɪtɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly.
“The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square.”
To remain at a certain place instead of moving on.
noun
A standing or strolling about without any aim or purpose.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly.
Used this way, loiter is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “loiter in …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: loiter in …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use loiter
- “The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.