35 Idioms for Wasting Time

We all find ourselves spending time in ways that aren’t productive, whether it’s procrastinating, dawdling, or engaging in activities that don’t contribute to our goals. In everyday language, idioms for wasting time vividly capture the feeling of unproductive moments. These expressions are useful when discussing how we or others spend time without making much progress. Whether it’s through delaying, avoiding tasks, or just “passing the time,” these idioms offer creative ways to talk about idleness.

In this article, you’ll discover 35 idioms for wasting time, each illustrating different aspects of procrastination, inefficiency, or simply passing time. These idioms will add color and creativity to your conversations when discussing time spent without purpose.

1. Twiddling One’s Thumbs

Meaning: To do nothing, especially when waiting for something to happen.
In a Sentence:

He was just sitting there, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for the meeting to start.
While she waited for the train, she ended up twiddling her thumbs for an hour.
Other Ways to Say: Idling, wasting time, doing nothing

2. Killing Time

Meaning: To do something to make the time pass while waiting for something else to happen.
In a Sentence:

He was just killing time at the airport by reading a book.
We spent the afternoon killing time at the park before the concert.
Other Ways to Say: Passing time, biding one’s time, waiting around

3. Spinning One’s Wheels

Meaning: To make a lot of effort without making any real progress.
In a Sentence:

We’ve been spinning our wheels all day on this project, but we haven’t made any real progress.
She was spinning her wheels in the meeting, trying to get her point across.
Other Ways to Say: Going in circles, making no headway, wasting effort

4. Beating Around the Bush

Meaning: To avoid getting to the point, often by talking about things irrelevant to the matter at hand.
In a Sentence:

Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you really think!
He spent the whole conversation beating around the bush instead of addressing the issue directly.
Other Ways to Say: Evading, procrastinating, avoiding the main point

5. Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall

Meaning: Trying multiple things in hopes that something will work, often without a clear plan.
In a Sentence:

They’ve been throwing spaghetti at the wall with these ideas, but nothing’s sticking yet.
Sometimes it feels like we’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what works.
Other Ways to Say: Trial and error, experimenting, being inefficient

6. Watching Paint Dry

Meaning: Engaging in an activity that is extremely dull or boring.
In a Sentence:

Waiting for the meeting to start felt like watching paint dry.
He was so bored during the lecture; it was like watching paint dry.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely boring, uninteresting, tedious

7. Faffing About

Meaning: To waste time on trivial or unimportant tasks, often in a disorganized way.
In a Sentence:

She spent the entire afternoon faffing about instead of getting any real work done.
Stop faffing about and focus on finishing the report!
Other Ways to Say: Procrastinating, messing around, wasting time

8. Dilly-Dallying

Meaning: To delay or waste time, often by being indecisive or doing things slowly.
In a Sentence:

We missed the train because he was dilly-dallying at the last minute.
Stop dilly-dallying and get ready! We’re running late.
Other Ways to Say: Dragging one’s feet, stalling, wasting time

9. Mucking About

Meaning: To waste time doing something in a careless or aimless way.
In a Sentence:

He spent the entire afternoon mucking about instead of getting to work.
Quit mucking about and help me with this task!
Other Ways to Say: Fooling around, being idle, wasting time

10. Sitting on One’s Hands

Meaning: To do nothing or refrain from taking action, especially when there is something to be done.
In a Sentence:

She was sitting on her hands while everyone else worked on the project.
Don’t just sit on your hands—help us figure this out!
Other Ways to Say: Being inactive, standing by, idling

11. Spinning Your Wheels

Meaning: To make an effort without making any progress or achieving results.
In a Sentence:

We’ve been spinning our wheels all day, and we still haven’t solved the problem.
If we keep going like this, we’ll just be spinning our wheels with no real outcome.
Other Ways to Say: Going in circles, making no progress, being stuck

12. Chasing Your Tail

Meaning: To waste time on repetitive, unproductive tasks, without making any significant progress.
In a Sentence:

He’s been chasing his tail all afternoon, trying to finish multiple tasks at once.
She spent the whole day chasing her tail, but didn’t accomplish anything important.
Other Ways to Say: Going in circles, spinning your wheels, being inefficient

13. Beating a Dead Horse

Meaning: To continue discussing or doing something that has already been resolved or is no longer useful.
In a Sentence:

I think we’ve covered this topic enough—stop beating a dead horse.
He kept bringing up the same issue, beating a dead horse with every meeting.
Other Ways to Say: Repeating yourself, over-discussing, dwelling on something resolved

14. In a Holding Pattern

Meaning: To wait without making progress, often due to external factors.
In a Sentence:

We’ve been in a holding pattern waiting for approval from the board.
The project is in a holding pattern until we get more information.
Other Ways to Say: Waiting around, in limbo, stalled

15. Wasting Away

Meaning: To slowly deteriorate or waste time doing something unproductive.
In a Sentence:

He’s been wasting away at that desk job instead of pursuing his dreams.
She’s wasting away on that project, not using her talents to their fullest.
Other Ways to Say: Passing time, being idle, not utilizing potential

16. Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Meaning: To pursue a misguided course of action or waste time on something that won’t be productive.
In a Sentence:

You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think that’s going to solve the issue.
They spent weeks barking up the wrong tree with their approach to the problem.
Other Ways to Say: Pursuing the wrong path, wasting efforts, misguided focus

17. Killing Time

Meaning: To pass time in a way that is unproductive or trivial.
In a Sentence:

I spent the afternoon killing time at the café, waiting for my friend.
We were just killing time before the event started.
Other Ways to Say: Passing time, waiting idly, biding time

18. Treading Water

Meaning: To maintain a situation without making progress or improvement, often in a stagnant or unchanging state.
In a Sentence:

She’s been treading water in the same job for years, not advancing in her career.
The company has been treading water financially for months without growth.
Other Ways to Say: Staying stagnant, making no progress, maintaining the status quo

19. Fiddling While Rome Burns

Meaning: To waste time or focus on trivial things while something important or serious is being neglected.
In a Sentence:

While the team was working on small details, they were fiddling while Rome burns—ignoring the deadline.
He was fiddling while Rome burns, playing games on his phone when urgent tasks needed attention.
Other Ways to Say: Ignoring priorities, wasting time in a crisis, focusing on the unimportant

20. Playing the Waiting Game

Meaning: To wait for something to happen, often in a way that leads to lost time.
In a Sentence:

The company is playing the waiting game, hoping the market will improve.
He was playing the waiting game, watching the clock tick away as he waited for a response.
Other Ways to Say: Waiting passively, stalling, delaying

21. Spinning Your Wheels

Meaning: To make a lot of effort but achieve no significant results or progress.
In a Sentence:

We’re spinning our wheels on this project; we need a new approach.
They’ve been spinning their wheels in the meeting for hours, getting nowhere.
Other Ways to Say: Going in circles, making no progress, wasting energy

22. Filling Time

Meaning: To do something in order to pass the time, often when there is nothing meaningful to do.
In a Sentence:

I was just filling time by watching TV while waiting for the rain to stop.
She was filling time by chatting with her coworkers instead of finishing her tasks.
Other Ways to Say: Passing time, wasting time, killing time

23. Biding One’s Time

Meaning: To wait patiently for the right moment to act or make a move.
In a Sentence:

He’s been biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity to launch his business.
She was biding her time until the perfect moment to make her decision.
Other Ways to Say: Waiting patiently, holding off, waiting for the right moment

24. Dragging One’s Feet

Meaning: To delay or avoid doing something, often out of reluctance or laziness.
In a Sentence:

He was dragging his feet about starting the new project, hoping someone else would take the lead.
She kept dragging her feet on making a decision about the new job offer.
Other Ways to Say: Stalling, procrastinating, delaying

25. Putting Off

Meaning: To delay or postpone doing something.
In a Sentence:

He kept putting off his responsibilities until the last minute.
I’ve been putting off cleaning the garage for weeks now.
Other Ways to Say: Procrastinating, delaying, stalling

26. Hanging Around

Meaning: To spend time in a place, often without a specific purpose or aim.
In a Sentence:

He was just hanging around the office, waiting for something to happen.
I’ve been hanging around, trying to find something useful to do.
Other Ways to Say: Loitering, waiting idly, staying around

27. Wasting Away

Meaning: To waste time in a way that leads to decline, often used figuratively to describe losing energy or vitality.
In a Sentence:

After the breakup, he spent weeks wasting away, not doing anything productive.
She felt like she was wasting away in the small town with no opportunities.
Other Ways to Say: Idle, stagnating, deteriorating

28. Languishing

Meaning: To waste away in a slow or miserable manner, often due to neglect or lack of activity.
In a Sentence:

The project has been languishing in the planning phase for months without any real progress.
He felt like his talents were languishing in the current position he was in.
Other Ways to Say: Declining, withering, stagnating

29. Treading Water

Meaning: To stay in the same place or situation without making progress.
In a Sentence:

We’re treading water with this project, stuck in the same place without moving forward.
She felt like she was treading water at work, unable to advance her career.
Other Ways to Say: Going nowhere, stagnating, stuck in place

30. Fritter Away

Meaning: To waste time or resources on unimportant or trivial things.
In a Sentence:

He spent the afternoon frittering away his time on social media instead of working.
She frittered away the money she had saved on unnecessary purchases.
Other Ways to Say: Squander, waste, dissipate

31. Burning Daylight

Meaning: To waste valuable time or fail to make use of available time.
In a Sentence:

We’re burning daylight waiting for the manager to arrive; let’s start without him.
Stop burning daylight, and get to work on that project!
Other Ways to Say: Wasting time, delaying, being inefficient

32. At a Standstill

Meaning: To be in a state where nothing is progressing, often due to a lack of action.
In a Sentence:

The meeting came to a standstill because no one could agree on the next steps.
The project is at a standstill due to the lack of resources.
Other Ways to Say: Stagnating, not progressing, stalled

33. Killing Time with a Spoon

Meaning: To waste time doing something that is extremely slow or ineffective.
In a Sentence:

They were killing time with a spoon, waiting for the final decision to come through.
Instead of finishing the report, he was killing time with a spoon, browsing the internet.
Other Ways to Say: Wasting time, going slowly, being unproductive

34. Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill

Meaning: To exaggerate a small issue, causing unnecessary delays or distractions.
In a Sentence:

Stop making a mountain out of a molehill; we’re wasting time arguing over small details.
He spent hours making a mountain out of a molehill, delaying the project.
Other Ways to Say: Overreacting, exaggerating, blowing things out of proportion

35. Biding One’s Time

Meaning: To wait for the right opportunity, often while doing nothing productive in the meantime.
In a Sentence:

He’s just biding his time, waiting for the right moment to present his idea.
Instead of rushing, she was biding her time, waiting for the perfect chance to speak.
Other Ways to Say: Waiting patiently, holding back, waiting for the right moment

Fill in the blanks:

She spent the afternoon ___________ while waiting for her meeting to start.
We were just ___________ in the waiting room, passing time until the appointment.
The project is just ___________ with no significant progress being made.
He keeps ___________ when it’s time to make a decision.
They’ve been ___________ with different strategies, hoping something will work.
He’s been ___________ all day, procrastinating instead of starting his task.
She spent hours ___________ with no real goal in mind.
Instead of getting to work, they were just ___________ and not being productive.
We can’t afford to keep ___________; we need to take action immediately.
The deadline is coming up, and you’re ___________ by not starting on the assignment.
We’ve been ___________ for weeks, waiting for the board to make a decision.
Instead of making progress, we’ve been ___________ on this issue for days.
He’s ___________, not doing anything while waiting for the right moment.
They kept ___________ during the meeting instead of focusing on the main topic.
Stop ___________ and get to the point!
We’re just ___________ while we wait for the approval.
Instead of dealing with the problem, he was ___________ and avoiding it.
She’s been ___________ on this project, not moving forward at all.
The boss was ___________ instead of making a decision about the new project.
They’ve been ___________ for the right time to launch the product.
We’ve spent too much time ___________ on minor details that don’t matter.
He was ___________, hoping to avoid making a difficult decision.
After a long wait, he finally decided to stop ___________ and start working.
The manager has been ___________ all week instead of moving the project forward.
You’ve been ___________ for hours, but you’re not getting anything done.
After the meeting, I just sat there, ___________ without knowing what to do next.
We’ve been ___________ for a long time, waiting for the situation to resolve itself.

Answer Key

a) Twiddling One’s Thumbs
b) Killing Time
c) Spinning Your Wheels
d) Beating Around the Bush
e) Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall
f) Watching Paint Dry
g) Faffing About
h) Dilly-Dallying
i) Mucking About
j) Sitting on One’s Hands
m) In a Holding Pattern
t) Treading Water
u) Languishing
o) Fiddling While Rome Burns
p) Chasing Your Tail
s) Filling Time
n) Hanging Around
w) At a Standstill
r) Dragging One’s Feet
q) Playing the Waiting Game
y) Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill
z) Biding One’s Time
f) Watching Paint Dry
v) Burning Daylight
w) At a Standstill
n) Hanging Around
x) Killing Time with a Spoon

Conclusion

Wasting time is a common part of life, whether it’s due to procrastination, distractions, or just waiting for the right moment to act. These 35 idioms for wasting time vividly capture the concept of unproductive moments, offering you a rich vocabulary to discuss inefficiency and idle moments in both casual and formal settings.

By understanding and using these idioms, you can more effectively describe situations where time is being lost or spent without progress. Whether you’re reflecting on a procrastinated project or describing someone’s idle behavior, these idioms provide a creative and relatable way to express the universal experience of time wasted.

Next time you’re discussing inefficiency or waiting around, consider using one of these idioms to add depth to your language. From “killing time” to “spinning your wheels,” these expressions help you capture the nuances of wasted time.