Word of the Day
: January 6, 2026loll
playWhat It Means
Loll most often means “to droop or hang loosely.” It can also mean “to act or move in a relaxed or lazy manner.”
// We’re counting down the days until the weather will be warm enough again to laze and loll by the pool.
loll in Context
“Just across the highway at Año Nuevo State Park, elephant seals loll lazily on the beach.” — Scott Clark, quoted in Saveur, 3 Apr. 2025
Did You Know?
Despite appearances, loll isn’t an exaggerated version of the abbreviation LOL. It isn’t even related to laughing. Instead, it is about hanging out, both literally and figuratively. Like another relaxing verb, lull (“to cause to rest or sleep”), it probably originated as an imitation of the soft sounds people make when resting or trying to soothe someone else to sleep. In addition to meaning “to hang loosely,” as in “a dog with its tongue lolling out,” loll shares meaning with a number of l verbs that are all about taking it easy, including loaf, lounge, and laze.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Quiz
Rearrange the letters to form a slang verb meaning “to calm down, relax”: LXIHCLA
VIEW THE ANSWERPodcast
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