loiter
/ˈlɔɪtɚ/verb, noun
loiter is spelled L-O-I-T-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, loiter means “To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in loiter?
| Letters | 6: L-O-I-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,838th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 loiter?
Loiter appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th 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 loiter?
- UK /ˈlɔɪtə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈlɔɪtɚ/
- US [ˈlɔɪɾɚ]
Loiter 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: En-us-loiter.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with loiter?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as loiter from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɪtəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: toiler.
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 loiter
- loiters present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- loitering participle, present
- loitered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does loiter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly.
For some reason, they discourage loitering outside the store, but encourage it inside.
- 2
archaicTo stroll about without any aim or purpose, to ramble, to wander.
- 3
To remain at a certain place instead of moving on.
- 4
Of an aircraft, to remain in the air near a target.
noun
- 1
A standing or strolling about without any aim or purpose.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Loiter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to stand about without any aim or purpose:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | flâner, traîner |
| German | rumlungern, rumhängen, herumhängen, abhängen, herumlungern, herumlümmeln |
| Portuguese | vadiar |
| Spanish | holgazanear, perder el tiempo, merodear, vagar, vaguear, honguearse |
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 loiter come from?
From Middle English loitren, from Middle Dutch loteren ("to shake, wag, wobble"; > modern Dutch leuteren (“to dawdle, ramble”)), ultimately connected with a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bend, stoop, cower, shrink from, decline”), see lout. Cognate with Dutch leuteren (“to dawdle”), Alemannic German lottern (“to wobble”), German lottern (“live a slovenly life”). More at lout, little.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).