NOUN (1)

1. work of little or no value done merely to look busy;


VERB (1)

1. do useless, wasteful, or trivial work;

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

boondoggle \boon"dog*gle\ v.
   1. a braided cord made by hand by young scouts, used for
      various purposes, such as a hat cord or a key chain.

   2. a useless, wasteful, or impractical project; -- especially
      one authorized by a government agency as a favor to
      partisans, to employ unemployed people, or in return for
      corrupt payments.
      [PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

boondoggle \boon"dog*gle\ v.
   to do useless, wasteful, or trivial work.
   [WordNet 1.5]