Learn English – What’s the word for “doing useless things while you don’t have anything to do”

single-word-requestsverbs

Can anybody tell me what the word for "doing useless things while you don't have anything to do" is?

Let's say I am surfing on the web, reading some articles, etc. while I don't have anything to do. It is not computer related. I am looking for a broad term.

I've checked the synonyms of "killing time" and these are what I've found:

  • dawdle
  • hang around
  • idle
  • kill time
  • lark: (v) play boisterously
  • mess around
  • play around

It seems lark can work for this case.

Best Answer

Killing time is a common idiom for this kind of activity.

Example (from Dictionary.com definition 51 of time): While I was waiting, I killed time counting the cars on the freight trains.

Sometimes it carries the connotation that you have something better to do that you could be doing, but it is definitely used in this sense as well, as in the example.