loitering
noun, verb
loitering is spelled L-O-I-T-E-R-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, loitering means “The act or practice of lingering or remaining in a place aimlessly or without an obvious purpose” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of loitering is loiterings.
How many letters and syllables are in loitering?
| Letters | 9: L-O-I-T-E-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is loitering?
Loitering appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th 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 loitering?
Loitering has 3 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).
Forms of loitering
- loiterings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does loitering mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act or practice of lingering or remaining in a place aimlessly or without an obvious purpose.
NO LOITERING [sign posted where hanging out and causing trouble is unwelcome]
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of loiter
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Loitering in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense The action of the verb loiter:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Herumlungern, Herumhängen, Rumhängen, Herumgammeln |
| Portuguese | vadiagem |
| Spanish | vagancia, merodeo |
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.