Idle pulley (Mach.), a pulley that rests upon a belt to tighten it; a
pulley that only guides a belt and is not used to transmit power. --
Idle wheel (Mach.), a gear wheel placed between two others, to transfer
motion from one to the other without changing the direction of
revolution. -- In idle, in vain. [Obs.] "God saith, thou shalt not take
the name of thy Lord God in idle." Chaucer.
Syn. -- Unoccupied; unemployed; vacant; inactive; indolent; sluggish;
slothful; useless; ineffectual; futile; frivolous; vain; trifling;
unprofitable; unimportant. -- Idle, Indolent, Lazy. A propensity to
inaction is expressed by each of these words; they differ in the cause
and degree of this characteristic. Indolent denotes an habitual love to
ease, a settled dislike of movement or effort; idle is opposed to busy,
and denotes a dislike of continuous exertion. Lazy is a stronger and
more contemptuous term than indolent.
I"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Idled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Idling (?).] To
lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.
Shak.
I"dle, v. t. To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; -- often
followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day.
I"dle-head`ed (?), a. 1. Foolish; stupid. [Obs.] "The superstitious
idle-headed eld." Shak.