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
That March, Tahmasbi noticed strangers loitering around his apartment building. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 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 There’s just a better version lurking inside, one that could’ve elevated the action-chase genre instead of merely loitering there. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loitering
  1. lingering
  2. delaying
  3. lethargic
  4. crawling
  5. inactive
  6. poking
  7. inert
  8. dragging
Adjective
  • 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
  • Although the treatment significantly reduced the cancer, follow-up exams showed lingering traces of the disease.
    — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 25 July 2026
Definition of lingering
Verb
  • Tariffs could also limit technology choices for Americans by delaying new product launches, including devices featuring the latest AI technologies.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
  • In other words, retirees stand to benefit more from annual COLAs by delaying.
    — Lorie Konish, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of delaying
Adjective
  • No team wants to peak on the first Saturday, but our league loves a narrative and what happens right now sets a tone; Manchester United’s is discordant, flat, lethargic.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Female mice dosed with QACs lost interest in food, became lethargic and short of breath, and began to lose muscle control during late pregnancy.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of lethargic
Verb
  • One of the groups was seen leaving about three hours afterward, according to the NYPD, while the second odd circumstance ended after individuals were seen crawling out and leaving in a vehicle more than two and a half hours after.
    — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Nidhi imagined the baby crawling around in her mother’s body, desperately seeking the uterus, and, failing to find it in its proper place, quietly shrivelling up and dying.
    — Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawling
Adjective
  • These polar nanoclusters would ideally be electrically inactive but quickly respond to electrical fields and add tunability to the material’s properties when needed.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The product also contains benzalkonium chloride, boric acid, edetate disodium, purified water, sodium chloride and sodium citrate as inactive ingredients.
    — Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of inactive
Verb
  • Most of what’s actionable comes from the signal that might be poking through.
    — Ben Gretch, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • In the shade of a dense forest canopy, Odette Kouakou paces through her grove of cocoa trees, snapping off dead leaves and poking the ripe yellow pods hanging down from the branches with a stick.
    — Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of poking
Adjective
  • On Wednesday, according to the complaint, the operatives handed Bowie a gun, ammunition and an inert explosive, then gave her instructions on how to use them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Agents make the arrest On Wednesday, Bowie met up with two informants in a car and paid $150 for a firearm (that was inert), ammunition and one magazine, the complaint alleges.
    — Lila Dominus, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of inert
Verb
  • As mentioned previously, Babcock obstinately played a late-career Marleau in significant minutes during his time in Toronto with dragging results.
    — Janson Duench, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The officer ordered him to stop, but the man continued driving, dragging the officer a short distance.
    — Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of dragging

Browse Nearby Words

loiterers
loitering
loiters
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Loitering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loitering. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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