loll

IPA/lɒl/
KK[lˈɑl]IPA/lɑːl/

loll — verb

  • lollpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • lollshe / she / it
  • lolledpast simple
  • lolling-ing form

1. to rest, sit, lean, or hang loosely so that the body looks deeply relaxed or sli

1.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

to rest, sit, lean, or hang loosely so that the body looks deeply relaxed or slightly lazy

Example

Tomás lolled in the deck chair after swimming in the lake.

loll in [chair/place] for a loose resting posture

One of the puppy's ears lolled over its sleepy eye.

Common collocations
  • loll in a chair
  • loll by the pool
  • loll against a wall/window
  • tongue/ear/arm loll
  • flag loll from a pole
Synonyms
  • lounge

    more everyday; usually focuses on sitting or lying comfortably rather than slack hanging

  • droop

    focuses more on hanging downward, often from tiredness or weakness

  • sprawl

    suggests the body spreads out widely rather than just hanging or leaning loosely

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

loll + adverb/prepositional phrase (in/by/against/from)

[body part/object] loll + direction/location

Usage Note

Often appears with a phrase showing place or direction. It can describe a relaxed person, but also a tongue, arm, ear, flag, or similar thing hanging down loosely.

Common Mistakes

The bag lolled on the table.
The bag hung from the chair.
'Loll' suggests loose hanging or slack lounging, not something simply resting on a flat surface.

loll — noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Loll is rarer and more vivid than lounge. Lounge usually just means sitting or lying comfortably on purpose, while loll adds the picture of the body falling into a loose, slack shape. Droop focuses more on hanging downward, often because something is weak, tired, or soft, so it works well for flowers, shoulders, or eyelids. Sprawl usually suggests the whole body spreading out and taking up space. Loll often sounds slightly literary, which makes it stronger than these everyday choices. A dog can loll with its tongue out, a student can lounge on a sofa, wilted flowers can droop, and a tired hiker can sprawl across the grass.

lounge ↗droop ↗sprawl ↗

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

Loll has been in English since Middle English. It seems to have grown from older words connected with dozing, mumbling, or loose movement, though its exact source is uncertain. Across its history, the central idea has stayed the same: a body or body part is not held firmly, but rests or hangs in a slack, relaxed way.