loiter

loiter — verb

1. to remain in a public area or outside a building without a clear reason, which m

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to remain in a public area or outside a building without a clear reason, which may cause others to become suspicious or think you are waiting for something.

Example

The security guard asked the teenagers why they were loitering outside the shop.

loitering + outside + place (police/security context)

Yasmin noticed a group of people loitering near the entrance of the train station.

Common collocations
  • loiter outside
  • loiter near
  • loiter in front of
  • loiter around
  • no loitering
Synonyms
  • linger

    Linger is more neutral and often positive — staying because you enjoy the place or moment (e.g., lingering over coffee).

  • hang around

    Informal. Can be neutral (with friends) or negative (suspiciously) depending on context.

  • mill about

    Describes a group moving without direction, often in confusion or anticipation.

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

loiter + around/in/near/outside + place

Usage Note

Frequently appears in official notices and legal language (e.g., 'No loitering' signs). Often implies that the presence is unwanted or suspicious.

Common Mistakes

He loitered the street for hours.
He loitered on the street for hours.
loiter is always intransitive; do not use a direct object without a preposition.
She was loitering the bookstore.
She was loitering outside the bookstore.
specify the location with a preposition (outside, near, around, in).

2. to move ahead very slowly by stopping and pausing often, causing delays in reach

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to move ahead very slowly by stopping and pausing often, causing delays in reaching a destination or in keeping up with others.

Example

The kids loitered on the way home from school, stopping to look at every insect.

loiter + on the way (travel/dawdling pattern)

Élise loitered behind the hiking group because she kept stopping to take photographs.

Common collocations
  • loiter behind
  • loiter on the way
  • loiter along
  • loiter on a journey
Synonyms
  • dawdle

    More common in everyday speech; strongly implies wasting time on purpose.

  • lag behind

    Focuses on being left behind by the group's pace, not just moving slowly.

  • dilly-dally

    Informal and playful; suggests indecision about where to go or what to do.

Antonyms
  • hurry

    To move or act with speed.

  • rush

    To move quickly because of urgency.

Grammar Patterns

loiter + behind/on + group/path/journey

Usage Note

Less common than sense 1. Used mainly in descriptive or literary writing about travel, walks, or journeys where someone falls behind by pausing too often.

Common Mistakes

She loitered her walk to school.
She loitered on her walk to school.
do not use loiter transitively; always add a preposition phrase.
The car loitered behind the truck.
The car lagged behind the truck.
loiter is for people walking, not vehicles.

Word family

  • loiterer
    nounC1
  • loitering
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Loiter suggests standing or moving slowly in a public place with no clear purpose, often drawing unwanted attention from security or police. Linger emphasises staying in a place longer than necessary because you enjoy being there (e.g., lingering over a cup of tea). Hang around is informal and can be neutral or negative depending on context — hanging around with friends is fine, but hanging around street corners sounds suspicious. Mill about describes a group of people moving around without direction, often in a confused or excited state, like passengers milling about after a cancelled flight.

loiter ↗linger ↗hang around ↗mill about

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • no loitering
  • loitering with intent

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle DutchEnglish

Loiter entered English in the 1500s from Middle Dutch loteren, meaning 'to shake, to be loose or unreliable.' The sense of lingering idly in a place developed naturally from the idea of being loose or unsteady — not committed to moving forward. By the 1700s, the word was well established for describing someone hanging about with no obvious purpose.