Wasting time is a dependency most humans fall into now and then, regularly without even noticing it. In English, there are numerous idiomatic expressions that capture this idea in creative and remarkable approaches. Idioms don’t usually suggest precisely what the phrases say—they convey a figurative meaning that provides intensity to normal conversations.
By learning idioms connected to wasting time, you no longer handiest improve your vocabulary but additionally make your speech sound more fluent and natural. These expressions bring colour and personality to the manner you talk, helping you connect more easily with local speakers.
In this manual, we’ll discover a number of the maximum common idioms approximately losing time, explain how they’re used, and display why they can improve your English. To make it sensible, you’ll also discover an easy workout at the stop that will help you practice and recall them more correctly. Let’s begin uncovering these attractive expressions!
Idioms for Wasting Time
1. Kill Time
Meaning: To do something trivial at the same time as looking in advance to three aspects.
Example: I scrolled through my cellphone to kill time earlier than the bus arrived.
Other Ways to Say: Fill the distance, kill time.
2. Fiddle Around
Meaning: To waste time doing unimportant sports in preference to focusing.
Example: He fiddled around collectively alongside his notebook in place of starting the challenge.
Other Ways to Say: Mess round, Fool round.
3. Burn Daylight
Meaning: To waste useful time, especially during the day.
Example: Come on, we haven’t even begun yet, and we’re burning daylight.
Other Ways to Say: Lose time, Delay.
4. Beat Around the Bush
Meaning: To keep away from attending to the principal issue.
Example: Stop beating throughout the bush and tell me what you suggest.
Other Ways to Say: Stall, Avoid the difficulty.
5. Drag One’s Feet
Meaning: To delay or act slowly, frequently on cause.
Example: He’s dragging his feet about finishing his chores.
Other Ways to Say: Stall, Take too extended.
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6. Dawdle
Meaning: To pass slowly and waste time.
Example: Don’t dawdle or we’ll be late for university.
Other Ways to Say: Linger, Waste time.
7. Twiddle Your Thumbs
Meaning: To sit down idle whilst equipped.
Example: I changed into twiddling my thumbs in the direction of the prolonged assembly.
Other Ways to Say: Sit idle, Wait round.
8. Goof Off
Meaning: To keep away from art work via the use of being lazy or playful.
Example: The children had been goofing off in place of studying.
Other Ways to Say: Fool round, Slack off.
9. Kill Two Birds with One Stone
Meaning: To whole duties right now—sometimes seen as inefficient if rushed.
Example: Buying while running errands allowed me to accomplish two goals at once.
Other Ways to Say: Multitask, Be powerful.
10. Spin Your Wheels
Meaning: To install, try without making development.
Example: I felt like I actually have become spinning my wheels on that task.
Other Ways to Say: Get nowhere by going in circles.
11. Blow Off Steam
Meaning: To loosen up or release pressure through unimportant sports.
Example: He completed basketball to blow off steam after paintings.
Other Ways to Say: Relax, Unwind.
12. Let the Grass Grow Under Your Feet
Meaning: To put off motion with the beneficial resource of being inactive.
Example: Don’t allow the grass to expand underneath your toes—start your essay now.
Other Ways to Say: Procrastinate, Stall.
13. Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill
Meaning: To waste time exaggerating small problems.
Example: She made a mountain out of a molehill about a tiny mistake.
Other Ways to Say: Exaggerate and blow things out of proportion.
14. Take Forever
Meaning: To spend too prolonged on a few elements.
Example: He takes all the time to get organized within the morning.
Other Ways to Say: Move slowly, Delay.
15. Beat the Clock
Meaning: To rush and give up a few issues in advance than a reduce-off date.
Example: We beat the clock and submitted the report simply in time.
Other Ways to Say: Race in competition to time, Work fast.
16. Chase Your Tail
Meaning: To waste time on unproductive responsibilities.
Example: I felt like I without a doubt have come to be chasing my tail all afternoon.
Other Ways to Say: Be unproductive, Go in circles.
17. Bide Your Time
Meaning: To wait patiently, on occasion losing time on the device.
Example: She bided her time till the assembly began.
Other Ways to Say: Wait it out, Pass the time.
18. Throw Away Time
Meaning: To waste time on subjects of little cost.
Example: He threw away time scrolling on social media.
Other Ways to Say: Lose time, Squander time.
19. Laze Around
Meaning: To spend time having fun without being productive.
Example: We lazed throughout the house all weekend.
Other Ways to Say: Lounge round, Be idle.
20. Procrastinate
Meaning: To delay doing something important.
Example: He procrastinated on his venture until the final minute.
Other Ways to Say: Put off, Delay.
21. Piddle Away
Meaning: To waste time or belongings.
Example: She piddled away in the afternoon searching for TV.
Other Ways to Say: Squander, Waste.
22. Waste Your Breath
Meaning: To communicate without impact, frequently to a person who acquired’t pay interest.
Example: You’re losing your breath arguing with him.
Other Ways to Say: Talk in useless, Speak to a wall.
23. Take Your Sweet Time
Meaning: To skip slowly, frequently intentionally.
Example: He continually takes his candy time cleaning up.
Other Ways to Say: Delay, Be leisurely.
24. Do Nothing
Meaning: To sit down idle without interest.
Example: I spent the day doing nothing but watching TV.
Other Ways to Say: Be idle, Waste time.
25. Overthink Things
Meaning: To waste time wondering an excessive amount in the area of acting.
Example: Stop overthinking topics and just determine.
Other Ways to Say: Overanalyze, Think an excessive amount of.
26. Slack Off
Meaning: To avoid paintings or effort.
Example: He slacked off within the direction of exercising, which disappointed the train.
Other Ways to Say: Be lazy, Neglect obligations.
27. Putter Around
Meaning: To do small, aimless duties.
Example: He likes to putter throughout the lawn on weekends.
Other Ways to Say: Tinker, Fiddle round.
28. Pass the Buck
Meaning: To shift obligation to someone else.
Example: She passed the greenback in the region of admitting her mistake.
Other Ways to Say: Shift blame, Avoid responsibility.
29. Waste Time on Small Talk
Meaning: To chat about unimportant topics as opposed to focusing.
Example: We wasted time on small speak instead of starting the meeting.
Other Ways to Say: Gossip, Chat idly.
30. Doodle Away Time
Meaning: To waste time drawing or scribbling rather than focusing.
Example: He doodled away time at the end of the lecture.
Other Ways to Say: Scribble, Waste time drawing.
31. Zone Out
Meaning: To daydream or lose consciousness.
Example: I zoned out at a few levels within the prolonged presentation.
Other Ways to Say: Daydream, Space out.
32. Hang Around
Meaning: To stay somewhere without reason.
Example: They hung throughout the park all afternoon.
Other Ways to Say: Loiter, Linger.
33. Waste Time on Gossip
Meaning: To spend time talking about others in the area of running.
Example: Don’t waste time on gossip—interest on your goals.
Other Ways to Say: Spread rumors, Talk idly.
34. Lose Track of Time
Meaning: To be blind to how an awesome deal time has surpassed.
Example: I misplaced the tune of time at the same time as gaming.
Other Ways to Say: Forget the time, Be ignorant of the clock.
35. Wile Away the Hours
Meaning: To spend time in a snug, unproductive way.
Example: They willed away the afternoon sitting through using the lake.
Other Ways to Say: Pass the time, Relax.
MCQs
1. What does the idiom “Kill time” mean?
A) To save time by working faster
B) To spend time on unimportant activities while waiting
C) To completely waste the whole day
D) To do two tasks at once
Answer: B) To spend time on unimportant activities while waiting
2. Which idiom means “to delay on purpose or act too slowly”?
A) Burn daylight
B) Beat around the bush
C) Drag one’s feet
D) Spin your wheels
Answer: C) Drag one’s feet
3. If someone says “You’re burning daylight,” what are they telling you?
A) You’re saving energy
B) You’re wasting valuable daytime
C) You are relaxing wisely
D) You are working too late
Answer: B) You’re wasting valuable daytime
4. The idiom “Twiddle your thumbs” refers to:
A) Working hard on a task
B) Sitting idle and doing nothing while waiting
C) Playing video games
D) Thinking too much
Answer: B) Sitting idle and doing nothing while waiting
5. Which idiom is used when someone avoids directly addressing the main issue?
A) Chase your tail
B) Beat around the bush
C) Waste your breath
D) Piddle away
Answer: B) Beat around the bush
6. If someone says, “Stop overthinking and just do it,” which idiom fits best?
A) Overthink things
B) Pass the buck
C) Do nothing
D) Slack off
Answer: A) Overthink things
7. What does it mean to “Chase your tail”?
A) To work efficiently on multiple tasks
B) To waste time on unproductive efforts
C) To delay intentionally
D) To talk too much about small matters
Answer: B) To waste time on unproductive efforts
8. Which idiom refers to avoiding responsibility by blaming others?
A) Pass the buck
B) Kill time
C) Waste your breath
D) Laze around
Answer: A) Pass the buck
9. “While playing games, I lost track of time.” This implies:
A) I knew exactly how much time passed
B) I became unaware of the time going by
C) I wasted time intentionally
D) I finished everything quickly
Answer: B) I became unaware of the time going by
10. The expression “Wile away the hours” suggests:
A) Passing time in a relaxed and unproductive way
B) Working quickly before a deadline
C) Spending too much time thinking
D) Moving slowly on purpose
Answer: A) Passing time in a relaxed and unproductive way
11. Which idiom describes someone who keeps delaying important work by choosing easier tasks instead?
A) Procrastinate
B) Take your sweet time
C) Kill time
D) Blow off steam
Answer: A) Procrastinate
12. If a person is “slacking off,” what are they doing?
A) Putting extra effort into their work
B) Spending time wisely
C) Avoiding work or effort
D) Overthinking before taking action
Answer: C) Avoiding work or effort
13. The phrase “Waste your breath” means:
A) Talking too much for fun
B) Speaking to someone who won’t listen or care
C) Relaxing by chatting with friends
D) Practicing a speech
Answer: B) Speaking to someone who won’t listen or care
14. If someone says, “He always takes his sweet time,” what does it imply?
A) He rushes through everything
B) He delays intentionally or moves very slowly
C) He values time wisely
D) He is highly productive
Answer: B) He delays intentionally or moves very slowly
15. Which idiom best describes a person doing small, aimless tasks without real progress?
A) Putter around
B) Beat the clock
C) Chase your tail
D) Pass the buck
Answer: A) Putter around
Summary
The article explains how humans often waste time without realizing it and highlights English idioms that describe this addiction in innovative methods. Learning those idioms now does not best enrich vocabulary, however it also enables speakers to sound greater fluent and herbal in conversations.
It introduces 35 common idioms for wasting time, such as kill time, drag one’s feet, burn sunlight hours, twiddle your thumbs, procrastinate, slack off, and lose time. Each idiom is defined with its meanings, examples, and alternative expressions.
The article also gives more than one-desire questions (MCQs) to check understanding, helping rookies practice the idioms in context and recall them more effectively.
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