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Definition of "sloth" [sloth]

  • Aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence. (noun)
  • Any of various slow-moving, arboreal, edentate mammals of the family Bradypodidae of South and Central America, having long hooklike claws by which they hang upside down from tree branches and feeding on leaves, buds, and fruits, especially: (noun)
  • A member of the genus Bradypus, having three long-clawed toes on each forefoot. Also called ai1, three-toed sloth. (noun)
  • A member of the genus Choloepus, having two toes on each forefoot. Also called two-toed sloth, unau. (noun)
  • A company of bears. See Synonyms at flock1. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "sloth" in a sentence
  • "There's a big floppy rabbit, slumped with the word "sloth" written across his giant paws."
  • "In a world where an internet search for the word "sloth" delivers 8 million results in 0.06 of a second, the taskforce of old suddenly has a whiff of second-class post about it."
  • "The use of the English word "sloth" gets the focus away from sadness."