killing time
Filling empty hours
Killing time is occupying oneself with trivial or idle activities while waiting for something: I was just killing time until my flight.
The phrase suggests the activity itself doesn't matter—you're simply making time pass rather than using it productively.
Time is the object being dispatched, not the duration of the killing.
Passing time idly
- loungingReclining in idleness
- lazingResting without aim
- dawdlingLeisurely time-wasting
- potteringAimless light activity
puttering · mooching · lolling · vegging · frittering · dillydallying · twiddling thumbs · loitering
Moving display content vertically
- browsingCasual examination of options
- gamingInteractive electronic entertainment
- puzzlesProblems designed to challenge
- readingInterpreting written text
doodling · people-watching · window-shopping · snacking · daydreaming · napping · chatting · texting
Wearisome dullness
- monotonyTiresome lack of change
- ennuiWeary, listless dissatisfaction
- listlessnessAbsence of energy, enthusiasm
- restlessnessState of unease
weariness · dullness · languor · lethargy · malaise · stagnation · lassitude · disinterest
Ordered waiting line
- layoverBreak between connecting flights
- delayEnforced waiting period
- countdownBackward enumeration to zero
- intermissionScheduled performance pause
interval · interlude · standby · holding pattern · waiting room · transit · stopover · connection
loafing
Passing time idly
pottering · puttering · mooching · lolling · vegging · frittering · dillydallying · twiddling thumbs · loitering · lingering
scrolling
Moving display content vertically
- browsingCasual examination of options
- gamingInteractive electronic entertainment
- puzzlesProblems designed to challenge
reading · doodling · people-watching · window-shopping · snacking · daydreaming · napping · chatting · texting · social media
tedium
Wearisome dullness
- monotonyTiresome lack of change
- ennuiWeary, listless dissatisfaction
- listlessnessAbsence of energy, enthusiasm
restlessness · weariness · dullness · languor · lethargy · malaise · stagnation · lassitude · disinterest · apathy
queue
Ordered waiting line
- layoverBreak between connecting flights
- delayEnforced waiting period
- countdownBackward enumeration to zero
intermission · interval · interlude · standby · holding pattern · waiting room · transit · stopover · connection · lobby
- idle timepassing time, wasting time, whiling away, doing nothing, dawdling
- idlenessdoing nothing, idling, loafing, lounging, lazing
- dawdlingdawdling, dallying, dilly-dallying, lingering, loitering
- Idle Phrasesidle hands, twiddling thumbs, at rest, doing nothing, sitting around
- stallingstall, stalling, delay, hesitate, procrastinate
- waitingwait, await, bide, hold on, hang on
killing timeworking
In active function
getting things done · making progress · hustling · grinding · industriousness
killing timeliving in the moment
Awareness of present experience
mindfulness · carpe diem · seizing the day · flow state · deep work
kill, killing, killer, killed, overkill, killjoy, killings, roadkill, killable