Idle (CPU)
WordNet
adjective
(1) Not in active use
"The machinery sat idle during the strike"
"Idle hands"
(2) Not in action or at work
"An idle laborer"
"Idle drifters"
"The idle rich"
"An idle mind"
(3) Not having a job
"Idle carpenters"
"Jobless transients"
"Many people in the area were out of work"
(4) Not yielding a return
"Dead capital"
"Idle funds"
(5) Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility
"Idle talk"
"A loose tongue"
(6) Silly or trivial
"Idle pleasure"
"Light banter"
"Light idle chatter"
(7) Without a basis in reason or fact
"Baseless gossip"
"The allegations proved groundless"
"Idle fears"
"Unfounded suspicions"
"Unwarranted jealousy"
noun
(8) The state of an engine or other mechanism that is idling
"The car engine was running at idle"
verb
(9) Run disconnected or idle
"The engine is idling"
(10) Be idle; exist in a changeless situation
"The old man sat and stagnated on his porch"
"He slugged in bed all morning"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Old English īdel, from West Germanic *īdla-. Cognate with Dutch ijdel ‘unimportant’, German eitel ‘bare, worthless’.
Adjective
- Empty, vacant.
- Not turned to appropriate use; not occupied.
- idle hours
- Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing.
- idle workmen
- Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
- an idle fellow
- Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
- an idle story; idle talk; idle rumor