loitering 1 of 2

adjective

as in lingering

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loitering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of loiter
as in delaying
to move or act slowly don't loiter in this neighborhood after dark

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of loitering
Adjective
Some victim advocates say human trafficking along Figueroa has escalated since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rollback of anti-loitering laws. — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Verb
The rock kids, the funk kids, the disco-ers, the club rats are all fleetingly conjoined by one pair of highly attuned ears loitering on the streets. — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 Crowder was charged with one count of loitering with intent to commit a crime in connection with that incident. — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026 The company revealed that both the Containerized Missile Launcher and the FV-014 loitering munition system are in-house developments. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2026 At the same time, Iran has reportedly modified another one of its Shahed series of loitering munitions based directly on combat lessons derived from Russia’s war on Ukraine. — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 There was late-night noise, people drinking or lingering on the front steps of the residential building, and bar patrons blocking access to the apartment parking entrance and loitering around the nearby DASH bus stop. — Isaac Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026 According to Metro officials, the transit has seen a nearly 60% drop in homeless people loitering over the past two years. — Tom Wait, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 The rocket body has been loitering lazily high above Earth for more than 18 months. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 3 Aug. 2026 The flies also spent far more time loitering outside the plume than inside it, even though nearly all their forward progress toward the source happened during those brief dips into the scent. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 1 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loitering
  1. lingering
  2. delaying
  3. lethargic
  4. crawling
  5. inactive
  6. poking
  7. inert
  8. dragging
Adjective
  • Shohei Ohtani returned to the top of the Dodgers’ lineup Monday after four days off to address lingering aches, as the club effectively pauses its pitching program for the two-way star.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • No more distractions, no more lingering questions, just a baller who loves this sport and continues to level up.
    — Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 31 July 2026
Definition of lingering
Verb
  • As first revealed by Deadline, insiders expect Brittin to confirm TV and radio network closures after delaying plans to announce the changes this week.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
  • According to researchers, a combination of emissions from wildfires, long-term ozone effects and climate change impacts is likely delaying progress.
    — Dan Peck, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of delaying
Adjective
  • The national committee has faced a host of criticism from other Democrats for its lethargic fundraising, including calls for DNC Chair Ken Martin to step down that have so far gone unheeded.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The show was also horribly paced, with way too many pointless instrumental spotlights that somehow managed to come across as both showy and lethargic at the same time.
    — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of lethargic
Verb
  • Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Traffic cameras showed that northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper and crawling along I-35 before being detoured from the highway.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawling
Adjective
  • Kagan’s discovery ultimately allowed for the generation of safer and more effective single-handed molecules by the pharmaceutical industry; previously, drugs with the incorrect mirror image were either very toxic or simply inactive.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Johnson was unexpectedly listed as inactive for the Eagles' home game Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of inactive
Verb
  • Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Video posted to social media showed one car nearly submerged, with just its sunroof poking above the water, as people moved other vehicles farther from the rising tides.
    — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of poking
Adjective
  • The footpad cannot extract energy from chemically inert surfaces such as plastic, glass, soil, or organic tissue, prompting the team to add a small onboard supercapacitor to buffer power across dead zones.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Technicians spent weeks running inert dummy rods through the cutters to verify tolerances before introducing live radioactive fuel.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of inert
Verb
  • But an owners representative claims that part of the problem was Erica and Peter dragging their feet on providing backup documents for their application package.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Another video shows two men beating and dragging a man into a car.
    — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dragging

Browse Nearby Words

loiterers
loitering
loiters
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Cite this Entry

“Loitering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loitering. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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