dingbat
Americannoun
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Slang. an eccentric, silly, or empty-headed person.
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Printing. an ornamental piece of type for borders, separators, decorations, etc.
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an object, as a brick, serving as a missile.
noun
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any unnamed object, esp one used as a missile
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a crazy or stupid person
Etymology
Origin of dingbat
First recorded in 1830–40; origin uncertain
Explanation
A dingbat is an idiot: a person who's dumb, silly, or just empty-headed. There are a lot of insulting words for someone who isn't very smart: moron, dummy, knucklehead, bonehead, etc. Another is dingbat. A dingbat isn't simply dumb, but also ditzy. On the sitcom “All in the Family,” Archie Bunker often called his wife Edith a dingbat. This is an insult, but it's humorous and not that offensive. Dingbats are also characters or ornaments used in typesetting that don't have any meaning. Those dingbats are also a little silly.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The property, made up of multiple lots, currently houses 10 bungalows, five dingbat apartments, a single-family home and 6-foot-tall weeds growing next to the burned-out structures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Then there was Miranda’s transformation from pragmatic career woman to lovesick dingbat, and the glaring absence of Samantha, a character who now exists solely via text message, like a saucy phantom trapped inside Carrie’s phone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
Everything about the show is more confident – the physical comedy is goofier, Devi's dingbat logic is more outlandish, and McEnroe's narration easily flows with the action.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2021
She achieved a reluctant fame from the air disaster, thanks to a cheesy Italian biopic in 1974, “Miracles Still Happen,” in which the teenage Dr. Diller is portrayed as a hysterical dingbat.
From New York Times ● Jun. 18, 2021
I know, grandpa—but she's such a funny little dingbat!
From Missy by Gatlin, Dana
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
