crackpot

[ krak-pot ]

/ ˈkrækˌpɒt /

Informal.

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noun

a person who is eccentric, unrealistic, or fanatical.

adjective

eccentric; impractical; fanatical: crackpot ideas.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”

Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.

Question 1 of 7

Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?

their

there

they're

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of crackpot

First recorded in 1860–65; from the phrase cracked pot

Words nearby crackpot

crackly, cracknel, crack of dawn, crack of doom, crack on, crackpot, cracksman, crack the whip, crackup, crack willow, cracky

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for crackpot

The society, founded in 1958, was fiercely anti-communist — and fond of crackpot theories.
Long before QAnon, Ronald Reagan and the GOP purged John Birch extremists from the party|Erick Trickey|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
Indeed, Wolf's journey to the crackpot fringe was completed a long time ago.
From ISIS to Ebola, What Has Made Naomi Wolf So Paranoid?|Michael Moynihan|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In small steps, the crackpot architectural ideas of the past are becoming built parts of our cities.
Why Architects Dream Big—and Crazy|Nate Berg|August 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That hardly sounds like some fire-breathing hard-right crackpot.
T.W. Shannon Is a Sign of Things to Come in the GOP|Ron Christie|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At an unaccredited college in Utah that was founded by acolytes of right-wing conspiracy-theorist crackpot Cleon Skousen.
Various Bits of Romney-Ryan Bashing All Rolled Into One Post!|Michael Tomasky|October 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But according to the Serious Men and Women of Washington, the FRC is not a crackpot outfit.
Why Must We Take the Family Research Council Seriously?|Michael Tomasky|September 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Projective telepathy had only been a crackpot's idea back then.
The Penal Cluster|Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)
Other machines began to integrate crackpot reports of things sighted in divers places.
The Invaders|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Calmly they accepted their rise in the world as being due to one of their local townspeople, a crackpot professor.
And Then the Town Took Off|Richard Wilson
She more or less considered him a crackpot, as far as I remember, you see.
Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Crackpot minorities object loudly at being portrayed in films they don't like.
Reel Life Films|Samuel Kimball Merwin

British Dictionary definitions for crackpot

crackpot

/ (ˈkrækˌpɒt) informal /

noun

an eccentric person; crank

adjective

(usually prenominal) eccentric; crazy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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crackpot

noun

adjective

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”

Origin of crackpot

Words nearby crackpot

Example sentences from the Web for crackpot

British Dictionary definitions for crackpot

noun

adjective

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

crackpot

noun

adjective

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”

Origin of crackpot

Words nearby crackpot

Words related to crackpot

Example sentences from the Web for crackpot

British Dictionary definitions for crackpot

noun

adjective