loiter

Meaning

1. To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly.
2. To stroll about without any aim or purpose, to ramble, to wander.
3. To remain at a certain place instead of moving on.
4. For an aircraft to remain in the air near a target.

wander

dawdle

idle about

pass time

wander about

roam about

walk about

gad about

move slowly

stroll around

sway to and fro

wander through

walk slowly

wander around

dangle heavily

stroll idly

wander aimlessly

be dilatory

lounge around

go slowly

leech onto

lounge about

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈlɔɪtə(ɹ)/

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 Lotterbube (“rascal”). More at lout, little.