loafer
/ˈloʊfɚ/noun, verb
loafer is spelled L-O-A-F-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, loafer means “An idle person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of loafer is loafers.
How many letters and syllables are in loafer?
| Letters | 6: L-O-A-F-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 59,387th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is loafer?
Loafer appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce loafer?
- UK /ˈləʊfə/
- US /ˈloʊfɚ/
Loafer has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-loafer.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with loafer?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as loafer from its last stressed vowel (/oʊfəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of loafer
- loafers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- loafering participle, present
- loafered participle, past
- lobo
- lobo wolf
- lofer
- lover
- loper
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does loafer mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An idle person.
- 2
A shoe with no laces, resembling a moccasin.
- 3
A particular orthogonal spaceship in Conway's Game of Life that moves at a speed of c/7, and the smallest such example.
- 4
USA wolf, especially a grey or timber wolf.
verb
- 1
To loaf around; to be idle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Loafer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | oisif, fainéant, paresseux , mocassin |
| German | Faulpelz, Faulenzer, Bummler, Bummelant, Gammler , Loafer |
| Portuguese | folgado, vadio , sapatilha |
| Spanish | haragán, gandul, holgazán, comodón , mocasín |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does loafer come from?
Perhaps short for landloafer, possibly a partial translation of German Landläufer (compare dialectal German loofen (“to run”), and English landlouper); or more likely connected to Middle English love, loove, loffinge, looffinge (“a remnant, the rest, that which remains or lingers”), from Old English lāf (“remainder, residue, what is left”) (more at lave), which is akin to Scots lave (“the rest, remainder”), Old English lǣfan (“to let remain, leave behind”) (more at leave).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).