loitered; loitering; loiters
1
: to delay an activity with idle stops and pauses : dawdle
asked him not to loiter on the way home
2
a
: to remain in an area for no obvious reason
teenagers loitering in the parking lot
b
: to lag behind
a crowd of people, who loitered to hear the bloodcurdling threats the prisoner shouted—
Willa Cather
Willa Cather
loiter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of loiter in a Sentence
Loitering is prohibited outside the theaters.
don't loiter in this neighborhood after dark
Recent Examples on the Web
Instead, numerous Chelsea sequences of possession ended with Jadon Sancho or Pedro Neto clipping crosses towards no one in particular with Nkunku, Palmer — or both — loitering just outside the Brighton penalty area.
—Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 9 Feb. 2025
Rarer still were his family members loitering with the entourage.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 27 Jan. 2025
As an undercover policeman, his job is to loiter near the men’s bathroom at the local shopping mall and seduce passing trade into committing acts of what his superiors would call gross indecency.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2025
Under the program, Miami Gardens police are given broad powers to stop and arrest people who appear to be loitering or trespassing at the participating business.
—Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for loiter 
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.
Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 9 Feb. 2025
Rarer still were his family members loitering with the entourage.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 27 Jan. 2025
As an undercover policeman, his job is to loiter near the men’s bathroom at the local shopping mall and seduce passing trade into committing acts of what his superiors would call gross indecency.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2025
Under the program, Miami Gardens police are given broad powers to stop and arrest people who appear to be loitering or trespassing at the participating business.
—Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for loiter
Dictionary Entries Near loiter
Cite this Entry
“Loiter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loiter. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
loiter
verb
loi·ter
ˈlȯit-ər 
1
: to interrupt or delay an errand or a journey with pointless stops
2
a
: to remain in an area for no good reason
b
: to lag behind
loiterer
noun
Legal Definition
loiter
intransitive verb
loi·ter
ˈlȯi-tər
: to remain in or hang around an area for no obvious purpose
specifically
: to linger for the purpose of committing a crime
a statute forbidding any person from loitering on school grounds
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share