Timewaster

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who idles away others' time with trivial matters ; a pastime or activity that consumes hours without producing anything useful
2. Someone who keeps colleagues or acquaintances busy with pointless chatter ; an pursuit or distraction that eats up time for little return
3. An individual who drains others of their time through idle talk ; a diversion that absorbs hours with no meaningful outcome

Etymology: "Timewaster" is a compound of "time" and "waster," where "waster" is an agent noun from the verb "waste," meaning one who wastes something. The combination describes a person or activity that consumes time without producing anything of value. The form is written as one closed word, while the hyphenated "time-waster" is an equally accepted spelling. The pairing is a straightforward English construction, built from two plain elements rather than borrowed from another language. Its meaning follows directly from its parts: the noun "waste" in the sense of squandering a resource, combined with "time," the thing being squandered.

Synonyms: idler, loafer, slacker, layabout

Antonyms: worker, go-getter