Footling — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

be about

act foolishly, as by talking nonsense

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/fˈʊɾəlɪŋ/

🇬🇧British English

/fˈʊtəlɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/fˈʊtəlɪŋ/

2 syllables Say it as /fˈʊɾəlɪŋ/.

Examples

The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square
Who is this man that is hanging around the department?
a fiddling sum of money

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

fiddling mill around lollygag mess about linger trivial lounge little mill about tarry loaf lilliputian petty piffling niggling picayune footle piddling lallygag lurk hang around loiter

Parts of Speech

verb	be about “The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square”
verb	act foolishly, as by talking nonsense
adjective	(informal) small and of little importance “a fiddling sum of money”

Word Forms

loiterer	noun	someone who lingers aimlessly in or about a place
lounger	noun	someone who wastes time
lingerer	noun	someone who lingers aimlessly in or about a place
littleness	noun	lack of generosity in trifling matters
pettiness	noun	lack of generosity in trifling matters
trivialize	verb	make trivial or insignificant
trivia	noun	something of small importance
triviality	noun	the quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

albern

ungefähr sein

🇪🇸Spanish

trivial

estar a mano

🇮🇹Italian

footing

essere circa

🇳🇱Dutch

voet

ongeveer zijn

🇵🇹Portuguese

brincalhão

estar prestes

🇷🇺Russian

недоросль

быть о

India

🇮🇳Hindi

पदयात्रा

के बारे में हो

🇧🇩Bengali

ফুটিং

সম্পর্কে হতে

🇮🇳Tamil

காலடி

பற்றி இருக்கும்

🇮🇳Telugu

పాదాలు వేయడం

గురించి ఉంటుంది

🇮🇳Marathi

पाऊल उचलणे

बद्दल असणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

પગ

વિશે હોવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಾಲಿಡುವುದು

ಸುಮಾರು ಎಂದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

കാൽനടയാത്ര

ഏകദേശം ആയിരിക്കും

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪੈਰ

ਬਾਰੇ ਹੋਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

پاؤں

کے بارے میں ہو

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

足足

大约

🇯🇵Japanese

フットリング

についてである

🇰🇷Korean

싱거운

대략이다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

chân đất

về

🇹🇭Thai

ก้าวเท้า

เป็นเรื่องเกี่ยวกับ

🇮🇩Indonesian

goblok

menjadi tentang

🇲🇾Malay

berpijak

kira-kira

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تافه

يكون حول

🇮🇷Persian

پا زدن

در مورد باشد

🇹🇷Turkish

taban

hakkında olmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

דריסת רגל

להיות בערך

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'footling'?

The primary meaning of 'footling' is 'be about'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'footling' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'footling' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'footling' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'footling' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'footling' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'footling' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'footling' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'footling' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'footling' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'footling' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted