We all waste time once in a while, whether it is scrolling on our phones, procrastinating on work, or getting distracted by small things. English has many colorful idioms that describe this habit in a more expressive way than simply saying “I wasted time.”
If you are looking for a direct answer, here it is: idioms for wasting time are expressions that describe delaying, procrastinating, or spending time unproductively.
In this article, I’ve shared 38 idioms for wasting time. Each idiom includes its meaning, a one-line sentence example, other ways to say it, plus two extra points to help you understand when and how to use it naturally in everyday English.
1. Kill Time
Meaning: To spend time doing unimportant activities
In a Sentence: I read magazines to kill time at the airport.
Other Ways to Say: Pass time, fill time
When to Use It: Waiting situations
Tone or Context: Casual
2. Twiddle Your Thumbs
Meaning: To be idle and do nothing
In a Sentence: He sat twiddling his thumbs all afternoon.
Other Ways to Say: Do nothing, be idle
When to Use It: Lack of tasks
Tone or Context: Informal
3. Drag Your Feet
Meaning: To delay doing something
In a Sentence: She is dragging her feet on the project.
Other Ways to Say: Stall, procrastinate
When to Use It: Avoiding responsibilities
Tone or Context: Neutral
4. Waste Away the Hours
Meaning: To spend a long time doing nothing useful
In a Sentence: They wasted away the hours watching TV.
Other Ways to Say: Squander time
When to Use It: Long periods of inactivity
Tone or Context: Casual
5. Fool Around
Meaning: To waste time instead of working
In a Sentence: Stop fooling around and finish your homework.
Other Ways to Say: Mess around, slack off
When to Use It: School or work
Tone or Context: Informal
6. Beat Around the Bush
Meaning: To avoid getting to the point
In a Sentence: He kept beating around the bush instead of answering.
Other Ways to Say: Dodge the issue
When to Use It: Indirect communication
Tone or Context: Neutral
7. Bide Your Time
Meaning: To wait without taking action
In a Sentence: She is biding her time before making a decision.
Other Ways to Say: Wait patiently
When to Use It: Planning stage
Tone or Context: Formal
8. Goof Off
Meaning: To avoid work
In a Sentence: They goofed off all day at school.
Other Ways to Say: Slack off
When to Use It: Casual conversation
Tone or Context: Informal
9. Dilly-Dally
Meaning: To move slowly and waste time
In a Sentence: Don’t dilly-dally or we’ll be late.
Other Ways to Say: Linger, delay
When to Use It: Time pressure
Tone or Context: Casual
10. Horse Around
Meaning: To play instead of working
In a Sentence: The kids were horsing around in class.
Other Ways to Say: Fool around
When to Use It: Playful behavior
Tone or Context: Informal
11. Mark Time
Meaning: To make no progress
In a Sentence: He feels like his career is marking time.
Other Ways to Say: Stagnate
When to Use It: Career or life goals
Tone or Context: Neutral
12. Kick Back
Meaning: To relax and do nothing productive
In a Sentence: I plan to kick back this weekend.
Other Ways to Say: Relax, take it easy
When to Use It: Free time
Tone or Context: Casual
13. Let Time Slip Away
Meaning: To allow time to pass without using it well
In a Sentence: She let time slip away scrolling online.
Other Ways to Say: Waste time
When to Use It: Regretful situations
Tone or Context: Reflective
14. Sit on Your Hands
Meaning: To do nothing
In a Sentence: He just sat on his hands during the crisis.
Other Ways to Say: Take no action
When to Use It: Missed opportunities
Tone or Context: Critical
15. Kill the Day
Meaning: To spend the whole day idly
In a Sentence: We killed the day at the mall.
Other Ways to Say: Waste the day
When to Use It: Leisure days
Tone or Context: Casual
16. Burn Daylight
Meaning: To waste valuable time
In a Sentence: We’re burning daylight by waiting.
Other Ways to Say: Lose time
When to Use It: Urgent tasks
Tone or Context: Informal
17. Spin Your Wheels
Meaning: To try but make no progress
In a Sentence: I’ve been spinning my wheels on this problem.
Other Ways to Say: Get nowhere
When to Use It: Frustration
Tone or Context: Casual
18. Lounge Around
Meaning: To lie or sit doing nothing
In a Sentence: They lounged around all weekend.
Other Ways to Say: Relax idly
When to Use It: Free time
Tone or Context: Casual
19. Procrastinate
Meaning: To delay tasks
In a Sentence: I procrastinate when tasks feel overwhelming.
Other Ways to Say: Put off
When to Use It: Work habits
Tone or Context: Neutral
20. Mess About
Meaning: To waste time
In a Sentence: Stop messing about and get ready.
Other Ways to Say: Fool around
When to Use It: Informal speech
Tone or Context: Casual
21. Kill Some Time
Meaning: To occupy free time
In a Sentence: Let’s grab coffee to kill some time.
Other Ways to Say: Pass time
When to Use It: Waiting
Tone or Context: Casual
22. Drift Along
Meaning: To live without clear purpose
In a Sentence: He drifted along after college.
Other Ways to Say: Wander
When to Use It: Life direction
Tone or Context: Reflective
23. While Away the Time
Meaning: To spend time pleasantly but unproductively
In a Sentence: She whiled away the time reading comics.
Other Ways to Say: Pass time
When to Use It: Leisure
Tone or Context: Casual
24. Take Your Sweet Time
Meaning: To move very slowly
In a Sentence: He took his sweet time getting ready.
Other Ways to Say: Move slowly
When to Use It: Delays
Tone or Context: Informal
25. Drag Things Out
Meaning: To make something take longer than needed
In a Sentence: They dragged out the meeting.
Other Ways to Say: Prolong
When to Use It: Long discussions
Tone or Context: Neutral
26. Sit Around
Meaning: To spend time doing nothing
In a Sentence: We sat around all afternoon.
Other Ways to Say: Be idle
When to Use It: Lazy days
Tone or Context: Casual
27. Tread Water
Meaning: To stay busy without progress
In a Sentence: He feels like he’s just treading water at work.
Other Ways to Say: Stagnate
When to Use It: Career talk
Tone or Context: Neutral
28. Pass the Time
Meaning: To occupy time
In a Sentence: I play games to pass the time.
Other Ways to Say: Kill time
When to Use It: Waiting
Tone or Context: Casual
29. Waste Your Breath
Meaning: To speak without effect
In a Sentence: You’re wasting your breath arguing with him.
Other Ways to Say: Talk in vain
When to Use It: Futile effort
Tone or Context: Informal
30. Drag On
Meaning: To seem too long
In a Sentence: The lecture dragged on.
Other Ways to Say: Prolong
When to Use It: Boring events
Tone or Context: Casual
31. Kick Your Heels
Meaning: To wait idly
In a Sentence: I was kicking my heels at the station.
Other Ways to Say: Wait around
When to Use It: Waiting
Tone or Context: Informal
32. Hang About
Meaning: To stay somewhere doing nothing
In a Sentence: They hung about the mall.
Other Ways to Say: Linger
When to Use It: Casual hangouts
Tone or Context: Informal
33. Sit Idle
Meaning: To remain inactive
In a Sentence: He sat idle while others worked.
Other Ways to Say: Do nothing
When to Use It: Criticism
Tone or Context: Neutral
34. Kill the Clock
Meaning: To spend time aimlessly
In a Sentence: I played cards to kill the clock.
Other Ways to Say: Pass time
When to Use It: Waiting
Tone or Context: Casual
35. Loaf Around
Meaning: To waste time lazily
In a Sentence: They loafed around all weekend.
Other Ways to Say: Lounge, slack off
When to Use It: Lazy days
Tone or Context: Informal
36. Burn Time
Meaning: To use time unproductively
In a Sentence: We burned time chatting online.
Other Ways to Say: Waste time
When to Use It: Casual use
Tone or Context: Informal
37. Spin Out
Meaning: To prolong unnecessarily
In a Sentence: He spun out the explanation.
Other Ways to Say: Drag out
When to Use It: Long talks
Tone or Context: Neutral
38. Kill an Afternoon
Meaning: To spend an afternoon doing nothing important
In a Sentence: We killed an afternoon at the beach.
Other Ways to Say: Waste an afternoon
When to Use It: Leisure time
Tone or Context: Casual
Conclusion
Idioms for wasting time help us describe delay, procrastination, and idleness in a more colorful way. Instead of repeating the same basic phrases, these expressions make your speech and writing more natural and expressive.
If you found this article informative, feel free to check out our other articles as well.
