loiter
pronunciation
How to pronounce loiter in British English:
UK [ˈlɔɪtə(r)]
How to pronounce loiter in American English:
US [ˈlɔɪtɚ]
-
- Verb:
- be about
Word Origin
- loiter (v.)
- early 15c., "idle one's time, dawdle over work," from Middle Dutch loteren "be loose or erratic, shake, totter" like a loose tooth or a sail in a storm; in modern Dutch, leuteren "to delay, linger, loiter over one's work." Probably cognate with Old English lutian "lurk," and related to Old English loddere "beggar;" Old High German lotar "empty, vain," luzen "lurk;" German Lotterbube "vagabond, rascal," lauschen "eavesdrop;" Gothic luton "mislead;" Old English lyðre "base, bad, wicked." Related: Loitered; loitering.
Example
- 1. Each day they loiter , playing chinese chess , hoping to be offered work .
- 2. With fuel packedinto every available nook of the fuselage , it can loiter above a target fornearly 20 hours .
- 3. Crowds of young hispanic men loiter on street corners in the middle of the day .
- 4. Researchers disinclined or unable to loiter in polling stations are increasingly drawn to statistical means of detecting fraud .