noun
Meaning 1
nonsense; foolishness.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
footle
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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fo͞otəl
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/ˈfuːtəl/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -uːtəl
verb
Meaning 2
To waste time; to trifle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: arse about, arse around, bludge, bum around, cabbage, clown around, dally, dawdle, dick about, dick around, diddle, dilly-dally, dretch, drumble, faff, faff about, faff around, fanny about, fanny around, fart about, fart around, fiddle about, fiddle around, fool about, fool around, footle, forslow, goof around, goof off, hang about, hang around, hang out, horse around, idle, jerk off, lallygag, lamp, laze, laze about, laze around, linger, loaf, loaf about, loaf around, loiter, lollop, lollygag, mess around, mill about, mill around, muck about, muck around, piddle, pingle, stand by, tarry, tool around, waste time, while
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To talk nonsense.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: babble, jabber
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To have sex.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic, vulgar
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
act foolishly, as by talking nonsense
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: act, behave, do
verb
Meaning 6
be about
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square
- Who is this man that is hanging around the department?
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: loiter, lounge, lollygag, loaf, lallygag, hang around, mess about, tarry, linger, lurk, mill about, mill around
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: be
Narrower terms: prowl, lurch
History
Etymology
Probably variant of footer (“to screw around”), from obsolete fouter (“an act of sexual intercourse”), from French foutre (“to have sexual intercourse”), from Latin futuere.
Across languages
Translations
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: глупост (glupost) — nonsense; foolishness
- Bulgarian: безсмислица (bezsmislica) — nonsense; foolishness
- Bulgarian: говоря глупости (govorja gluposti) — to talk nonsense
- Chinese Mandarin: 讲废话 (Jiǎngfèihuà) — to talk nonsense