idle
/ˈaɪdəl/
adjectiveverbnoun
Familiar
1.adj.not in action or at work
“an idle laborer”
2.adj.without a basis in reason or fact
“baseless gossip”
3.adj.not in active use
“the machinery sat idle during the strike”
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idle and idol are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. idle means “not in action or at work”. idol means “a material effigy that is worshipped”. idol is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈaɪdəl/
1.adj.not in action or at work
“an idle laborer”
2.adj.without a basis in reason or fact
“baseless gossip”
3.adj.not in active use
“the machinery sat idle during the strike”
| idle | idol | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈaɪdəl/ | /ˈaɪdəl/ |
| Said | AHY-duhl | AHY-duhl |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 4 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | adjective, verb, noun | noun |
| Senses | 10 | 3 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | graven image, god |
Full entry for idle · Full entry for idol · More comparisons
/ˈaɪdəl/
1.n.a material effigy that is worshipped
“thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image”
2.n.someone who is adored blindly and excessively
3.n.an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept