What does lolling mean?
Lolling most commonly appears as the gerund or present participle of loll, meaning to sit or lie back in a relaxed, idle manner. It is especially associated with the informal British expression of doing nothing in particular, and it conveys an atmosphere of aimless comfort, passivity, or unhurried leisure. A second, informal use treats LOL as the initials of ‘laughing out loud’; lolling then means laughing, usually in response to something amusing online. This humorous sense overlaps with the older use of loll to mean laughing, while the acronym LOL has reinforced its modern association with online humour. Lowercase lolling normally evokes lounging, whereas a humourous or acronym-based context makes the laughing sense more likely. Although the word is grammatically straightforward, it is less common as a standalone expression than loll and appears most naturally in phrases that make its intended meaning clear.
As a present participle or gerund, lolling means sitting or lying back in a relaxed, idle manner; informally, it can also mean laughing.
"They spent the afternoon lolling around on the sofa."
The lounging sense is especially common in British informal English.
The act of reclining or lounging; in informal use, the act of laughing.
"The afternoon was spent lolling on the porch."
Lolling is normally used as an indefinite gerund or an uncountable noun; a distinct plural is not established in ordinary use.
"The afternoon was spent lolling on the porch."
A single word can mean both doing absolutely nothing and laughing out loud.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lolling come from?
English lolling is formed by adding the present-participle ending -ing to the long-established verb loll. Loll has been used both for reclining or lying at ease and for laughing, while the modern chat abbreviation LOL, meaning ‘laughing out loud’, reinforces the second sense. The ultimate origin of loll is uncertain, so no more specific language-of-origin claim is warranted.
How lolling is actually used
The lounging sense is informal and particularly associated with British English. The humorous sense is also informal and occurs chiefly in online or text-based communication, where LOL is more usual.
Easily confused with lolling
Loll is the base verb, while lolling is its -ing form; in informal communication, lol can also be an abbreviation for ‘laughing out loud’.