To loiter means to hang around in a place without any clear purpose or reason to be there. When someone loiters, they're lingering in a spot without doing anything specific, often in a way that makes others wonder why they're there.

You might see “No Loitering” signs outside stores or in parking lots. These signs exist because business owners worry that people hanging around aimlessly might make customers uncomfortable or cause problems. A security guard might ask someone to stop loitering if they've been standing in one spot too long without shopping or doing anything related to the place.

The word carries a slightly negative feeling. If you're waiting for your mom outside a store, you're not loitering, you're waiting. But if you and your friends are just hanging around a building's entrance with nothing to do, blocking the doorway and making noise, someone might tell you to stop loitering.

The key difference is purpose. Standing somewhere for a reason (waiting for a bus, watching a street performer, meeting a friend) isn't loitering. But wandering around or camping out somewhere without a clear reason connected to that place can make people suspicious of your intentions.