# lazy

/ˈɫeɪzi/ (US) · /lˈeɪzi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/lazy
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. unwilling to work

adjective · CEFR A2

not wanting to work or use any effort.

For teachers: disinclined to activity or exertion; showing a lack of motivation to perform tasks.

- He is too lazy to cook, so he usually just orders pizza.
- The manager grew frustrated with the lazy attitude of the new recruits, who frequently avoided their responsibilities during the busiest shifts.

### 2. relaxed or slow

adjective · CEFR B1

moving slowly or in a relaxed way.

For teachers: characterised by a lack of haste or energy; moving in a slow, leisurely manner.

- We spent a lazy afternoon sitting by the river and watching the boats.
- The river followed a lazy path through the valley, winding slowly between the ancient willow trees.

### 3. careless

adjective · CEFR B2

showing that you have not put enough thought or effort into something.

For teachers: demonstrating a lack of precision, rigour, or care in execution.

- The teacher pointed out several lazy mistakes in my essay.
- The critic dismissed the film as a lazy attempt to capitalise on the success of the original franchise without offering any new ideas.

### 4. computing

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical

waiting to calculate a result until it is actually needed.

For teachers: relating to a functional programming strategy where expression evaluation is deferred until the value is required.

- Lazy evaluation can help improve the performance of your code.
- By implementing lazy loading for the images, the developer significantly reduced the initial page load time for mobile users.

### 5. to be idle

verb · CEFR C1 · Informal

to spend time doing nothing or being very relaxed.

For teachers: to behave in an idle or indolent manner; to pass time without effort.

- We decided to lazy around the house all Sunday morning.
- Instead of finishing his chores, he spent the entire afternoon lazying on the sofa with his phone.

### 6. an idle person

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · Dialect

a person who is not willing to work.

For teachers: a person who habitually avoids work or effort.

- Don't be such a lazy; get up and help us clean.
- The old man complained that the village was full of young lazies who had no interest in farming.

## Examples

- I feel too lazy to cook dinner tonight.
- The manager warned the staff that lazy behavior would not be tolerated during the busy holiday season.
- The film's plot relied on lazy writing and tired clichés rather than developing the complex characters promised in the opening scenes.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.