as in lingered
to move or act slowly
don't loiter in this neighborhood after dark
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Recent Examples of loitered
Stella crossed the street and loitered outside the store window displaying haughty mannequins flaunting swagger coats.
—
Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
At the start of that brief official visit, his first, five military-grade drones loitered dangerously near Dublin Airport’s busiest civilian flight paths unopposed.
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The hotel is a short walk from the Jericho Tavern, where Radiohead played its first gig, in 1986, and around the corner from a now shuttered HMV, in whose aisles Donwood and Yorke once loitered, scouting the competition.
—Zoe Si, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025
The drones also loitered above an Irish Navy vessel that had secretly deployed for Zelensky's visit.
—Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
There, the crop continued to grow while white-faced ibis and killdeer birds loitered around the water.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
At the start of that brief official visit, his first, five military-grade drones loitered dangerously near Dublin Airport’s busiest civilian flight paths unopposed.
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025
The hotel is a short walk from the Jericho Tavern, where Radiohead played its first gig, in 1986, and around the corner from a now shuttered HMV, in whose aisles Donwood and Yorke once loitered, scouting the competition.
—Zoe Si, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025
The drones also loitered above an Irish Navy vessel that had secretly deployed for Zelensky's visit.
—Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
There, the crop continued to grow while white-faced ibis and killdeer birds loitered around the water.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loitered
Verb
-
The process of getting back to ace form lingered through the first half of the Miami Marlins’ 2025 season.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Strong high atmospheric pressure, which typically doesn’t form with as much strength until late spring or early summer, lingered for a large part of the month, bringing lots of sunshine, consistently above-average temperatures and very little rainfall.—
Anthony Franze,
San Antonio Express-News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Check subscriptions, compare a few price quotes, and choose quality over clutter, especially if your budget talks keep getting delayed or mixed between emails and texts.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Apr. 2026
-
American Airlines is telling you why your flight is delayed.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His daughter, Erin Gerber, dragged her three-year-old son onto the front lawn when the vehicle approached the driveway.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Extortion attempts from that campaign dragged on for months.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Woods was alone in the car and crawled out of the passenger door after the crash.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The man who crawled out of that chest would shape how nations justify power for centuries to come.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Thorns forward poked the ball through and Ball kicked her leg into Wilson’s path, taking her down inside the box.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Since then, the president has repeatedly poked at the vulnerability.—
Taryn Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
On Monday, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker strolled to the mound in the fifth inning to tell his pitcher Carter Baumler something.—
Evan Grant,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Madison Booker set the Longhorns' scoring record for the NCAA Tournament as Texas shook off an early test from Oregon and strolled to 100-58 victory at Moody Center.—
Danny Davis,
Austin American Statesman,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Loitered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loitered. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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