Idle about Meaning in English
expression
ˈaɪdəɫ/ /əˈbaʊt
EYE-duhl uh-BOWT
ˈaɪdəl/ /ɐbˈaʊt
EYE-duhl uh-BOWT
Definition
To spend time doing nothing important, often moving around without any real purpose or just relaxing.
Usage & Nuances
Informal; often used for people who waste time or don't have anything urgent to do. Similar to 'hang around', but with more sense of laziness or lack of purpose. Often followed by a place: 'idle about the house'.
Spanish: vaguear - perder el tiempo - holgazanearPortuguese (BR): vadiar - ficar à toaPortuguese (PT): vaguear - andar à toaChinese (Simplified): 闲逛 - 游荡Chinese (Traditional): 閒逛 - 遊蕩Hindi: आसपास बेकार घूमना - समय बर्बाद करनाArabic: يتسكع - يتباطأBengali: এলোপাতাড়ি ঘোরা - অলসভাবে ঘোরাফেরা করাRussian: бездельничать - слонятьсяJapanese: ぶらぶらするVietnamese: lang thang - đi loanh quanh (không mục đích)Korean: 빈둥거리다 - 어슬렁거리다Turkish: boş boş dolaşmak - aylak aylak gezmekUrdu: ادھر اُدھر پھرنا - وقت ضائع کرناIndonesian: berleha-leha - mondar-mandir (tanpa tujuan)
Example Sentences
They like to idle about on Sundays.
basic
Don't just idle about; help me clean the house.
basic
The children idled about the playground after school.
basic
We just idled about the city all afternoon, doing nothing special.
natural
Sometimes it's nice to idle about with no plans at all.
natural
He spent his summer just idling about and reading books in the park.
natural