What's the difference between idle and standstill?

Idle


Definition:

  • (superl.) Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren.
  • (superl.) Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
  • (superl.) Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen.
  • (superl.) Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow.
  • (superl.) Light-headed; foolish.
  • (v. i.) To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.
  • (v. t.) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; -- often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Even with hepatic lipase, phospholipid hydrolysis could not deplete VLDL and IDL of sufficient phospholipid molecules to account for the loss of surface phospholipid that accompanies triacylglycerol hydrolysis and decreasing core volume as LDL is formed (or for conversion of HDL2 to HDL3).
  • (2) Eager to show I was a good student, the next time we had sex, I noticed that one of my hands was, indeed, lying idle – and started to pat him on the back, absently, as if trying to wind a baby.
  • (3) And imagine he then found that, far from acting swiftly to capture, arrest and charge him, the Metropolitan police force (who knew something about his activities) initially stood idly by as his list of victims grew and grew.
  • (4) The balance is fragile and the threat of a spiral of decline is not an idle one.
  • (5) The KBS hypothesis of autism is not simply an idle exercise.
  • (6) "There are idle MPs with no outside interests and there are fantastic public servants that do have them."
  • (7) On Saturday an idle digg ing machine signalled the hasty clearing of the building site to make way for the refugees, who have fled from countries including Syria and Eritrea .
  • (8) In circumstances in which energy conversion rate and supplies of reducing power exceed the capacity of the biosynthetic machinery, energy-dependent H2 production presumably represents a regulatory device that facilitates "energy-idling."
  • (9) Relative to EM, Meritec had the highest specificity (97%), followed by Virogen (95%), IDL (91%), Pathfinder (85%), Behring (81%), Bartels (72%), and Rotazyme (71%).
  • (10) Thus, introducing fish oil into an atherogenic diet reduced the number of VLDL, IDL and LDL particles in plasma by as much as 50%, reduced the cholesteryl ester content of the circulating lipoprotein, and reduced the ability of the VLDL to stimulate cholesterol esterification in macrophages.
  • (11) 12.44am BST Ah, here's @NotCoachTito, sitting somewhere idly wondering what it's like in Fenway tonight...actually, he may have a decent idea of the atmosphere.
  • (12) It was on the set of The Frost Report that production staff began to refer to Barker and Corbett as "the two Ronnies", while the writing team included Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, and Eric Idle – every Monty Python member bar Terry Gilliam – as well as Marty Feldman and lead writer Antony Jay, who went on to create Yes, Minister.
  • (13) Moreover, a larger fraction of plasma VLDL is transformed into IDL and LDL, the latter representing the main plasma cholesterol carrier.
  • (14) Hagere Selam remains a modest place of mudwalled shops with corrugated roofs, cows, donkeys and sheep wandering unpaved streets and children idling away an afternoon at table football – a generation with no memory of the famine that killed hundreds of thousands and woke up the world.
  • (15) Epidemiological studies in humans suggest that IDL or remnant lipoproteins are predictors of the severity or progression of atherosclerosis.
  • (16) It would be idle to pretend that Cameron doesn't have talents as a leader.
  • (17) A chlorine sanitizer was circulated (5 min, 40 degrees C) and the unit containing sanitizing solution left idle overnight.
  • (18) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Either way, I love Jane for idly sticking two fingers up at the idea of a spa break in Rhodes or other emblems of “sophistication” being the only thing to aspire to.
  • (19) Bidders have spent an estimated £1m each on their bids but, according to one industry source, the process has stalled and franchise owners are being forced to retain expensive but idle bidding teams.
  • (20) The results indicate that a simple depletion of his-tRNA is not sufficient to elicit the response and suggest that idle ribosomes are required for regulation.

Standstill


Definition:

  • (n.) A standing without moving forward or backward; a stop; a state or rest.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Because of these different direct and indirect actions, a sudden cessation of sinus node activity or sudden AV block may result in the diseased heart in a prolonged and even fatal cardiac standstill, especially if the tolerance to ischemia of other organs (notably the brain) is decreased.
  • (2) Sinus standstill, lasting 30 seconds, was observed in one patient.
  • (3) The tolerance of ischemia in normal and less perfused myocard during an ischemic and cardioplegic heart standstill was investigated.
  • (4) Koehler confirmed German media reports that the truck had apparently been slowed by an automatic braking system, bringing it to a standstill after 70 to 80 metres (230-260ft) and preventing worse carnage.
  • (5) In August, the capital came to a standstill as terrified workers were forced to stay home after gang leaders orchestrated a forced public transport boycott by killing a dozen bus drivers in response to a crackdown by authorities against organised crime.
  • (6) PGE2 infusion in cases with standstill not responding to oxytocin treatment: In 82 parturients (1.4%) a standstill occurred during labour after initially normal dilation of the cervix, and could not be overcome by administration of oxytocin.
  • (7) Their mechanism of action can therefore be explained by stating that, due to increased intercellular permeability, the asymmetry of the system is lost and absorption thus comes to a standstill.
  • (8) Last Monday, INM negotiated a standstill agreement with its bondholders which gave the company another six weeks to repay a €200m debt.
  • (9) The imaging time per layer was 10 seconds so that rapid imaging could be carried out at respiratory standstill.
  • (10) Several countries in the Balkans were having problems with democracy and the process of EU enlargement in the area was at a standstill.
  • (11) We considered that the atrial overload due to combined valvular disease for seventeen years had resulted in total and persistent atrial standstill.
  • (12) The extent of standstill was assessed by intra-atrial recording and stimulation.
  • (13) Data from the Thai Demographic and Health Survey, conducted in 1987, confirm evidence from earlier surveys that the decline in the duration of breastfeeding evident during the 1970s came largely to a standstill in the 1980s.
  • (14) This complex has been found to protect spermatozoa against loss of motility which leads to complete standstill when Tyrode solution alone is used after incubation for six hours under the conditions under which we conducted the experiment.
  • (15) Vedev said the economy could grind to a standstill or start shrinking in the fourth quarter of this year, potentially moving into the country’s first recession since 2009 early next year.
  • (16) Onlookers reported seeing the plane flying low before smashing into a field and coming to a standstill with its nose in the River Stour near the village of Throop.
  • (17) An asymptomatic patient with cardiomegaly caused by isolated right atrial standstill is reported.
  • (18) Higher doses of these drugs except dipyridamole caused atrial standstill.
  • (19) Istanbul came to a standstill on Sunday as an army of riot police and gendarmerie cordoned off streets and use teargas on protesters in the centre of the city while the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, staged a rally before hundreds of thousands of supporters at the waterfront.
  • (20) Really bad is when there's patients waiting in A&E for a bed but no flow out of A&E and it comes to a standstill.