loafer

UK: /ˈləʊfə^r/ US: /ˈloʊfɚ/ ,(lō′fər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

loaf•er  (lō′fər), n. 

1. a person who loafs;
   lazy person;
   idler.

• 1820–30, American; perh. short for *landloafer vagabond; compare German (obsolete) Landläufer, Dutch landloper; see landloper

loaf′er•ish, adj. 

Loaf•er  (lō′fər), [Trademark.]

1. Clothing, Trademarks a brand name for a moccasinlike slip-on shoe.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

loafer / ˈləʊfə/ noun

1. a person who avoids work; idler
2. a moccasin-like shoe for casual wear

Etymology: 19th Century: perhaps from German Landläufer vagabond

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

Loaf•er /ˈloʊfɚ/   [Trademark.] [countable]

1. Clothing, Trademarks a slip-on shoe similar to a moccasin.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

loaf¹ /loʊf/   n. [countable] pl. loaves (lōvz).

1. Food a shaped or molded mass of bread.
2. Food a similar shaped or molded mass of food:
   a meat loaf.

loaf² /loʊf/   v. 

1. to pass time idly: [no object]
   He loafed during the summer.
   [~ + object]
   to loaf the afternoon away.

loaf•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

loaf¹  (lōf ), n., pl. loaves  (lōvz). 

1. Food a portion of bread or cake baked in a mass, usually oblong with a rounded top.
2. Food a shaped or molded mass of food, as of sugar or chopped meat:
   a veal loaf.
3. British Terms
   • Food the rounded head of a cabbage, lettuce, etc.
   • Slang (older use). head or brains:
     Use your loaf.

• bef. 950; Middle English lo(o)f, Old English hlāf loaf, bread; cognate with German Laib, Old Norse hleifr, Gothic hlaifs

loaf²  (lōf ), v.i. 

1. to idle away time:
   He figured the mall was as good a place as any for loafing.
2. to lounge or saunter lazily and idly:
   We loafed for hours along the water's edge.

v.t. 

3. to pass idly (usually fol. by away):
   to loaf one's life away.

• back formation from loafer 1825–35, American.

Synonyms

• 2. loll, idle.