lazy

LAY-zee/ˈleɪzi/

Adjectivelazier, laziest

Verblazies, lazying, lazied

Noun plurallazies

12 meanings of lazy

Practice

1
adjective
Not wanting to work or make an effort.
Like someone who would rather lie on the couch than help with chores.
My older brother is too lazy to tidy his own room.
Don't be lazy. Get up and help in the kitchen.
Similaridle, indolent, slothful, shiftless
Oppositehardworking, industrious, diligent, energetic
Note
2
adjective
Done without much effort or care.
Like homework scribbled down in a hurry without really trying.
His essay was a lazy attempt with no real research behind it.
That was a lazy excuse, and nobody believed it.
Similarcareless, sloppy, slapdash, slipshod
Oppositecareful, meticulous, thorough, painstaking
3
adjective
Slow, relaxed, and free from work or hurry.
Like a slow morning when you have nothing you must do.
We spent a lazy Sunday reading in the backyard.
The whole town slows down on hot, lazy afternoons.
Similarleisurely, relaxed, unhurried, idle, languid
Oppositebusy, hectic
4
adjective
Moving in a slow, gentle way.
Like a slow stream that hardly seems to move at all.
The lazy river wound slowly through the green valley.
A lazy breeze barely stirred the leaves.
Similarslow, sluggish, languid, unhurried, leisurely
Oppositefast, swift, rapid, brisk
5
adjective
Hanging down in a loose, droopy way.
Like a flower that bends and hangs down when it needs water.
The dog's lazy ears flopped over its eyes.
The plant's lazy stems drooped over the edge of the pot.
Similarlimp, droopy, drooping, slack, loose
Note
6
verbcolloquialintransitive
To rest and do very little.
Like spending a whole day doing nothing but resting.
On Saturdays we just lazy around the house all day.
He likes to lazy by the pool when it is hot.
Similarlounge, idle, loaf, relax
Note
7
nouncountable
Someone who does not like to work.
Every team has one lazy who leaves the hard jobs to everyone else.
The office was full of lazies who dodged every task.
Similarslacker, idler, loafer, layabout, shirker
Note
8
adjective
In computer programs, working out a result only when it is needed.
Like making a sandwich only when you are actually hungry, not before.
A lazy program waits until the last moment to do its math.
The app uses a lazy method to save memory.
Oppositeeager, strict
Note
9
adjective
Of a letter, turned on its side so it lies flat instead of standing up.
Like a letter tipped over so it rests on its side.
The ranch used a lazy S as its cattle brand.
She drew a lazy J lying on its side.
Note
10
adjective
Of an eye, weak and turning the wrong way because its muscles are not strong.
Like one eye looking a different way from the other.
The boy wore a patch to help fix his lazy eye.
Her lazy eye drifted to one side when she was tired.
Note

Less common meanings

11
adjectiveobsoleteUK
Wicked or cruel.
The swilland dropsy enter in The lazy cuke , and swell his skin
1641, Ben Jonson, The Sad ShepherdHere, lazy means wicked or evil.
Note
12
nounobsolete
A slow tree-dwelling animal of warm forests, also called a sloth.
Like a slow animal that hangs from tree branches all day.
The traveler spotted a lazy hanging from a high branch.
A lazy moved slowly along the vine, gripping with its long claws.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of lazy apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

In use since the 1540s, but its origin is not certain. It probably comes from Low German words meaning 'weak' or 'lazy'.