dolt
Americannoun
-
dolts
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dolt
First recorded in 1535–45; variant of obsolete dold “stupid,” originally past participle of Middle English dollen, dullen “to dull”; see dull
Explanation
Dolt refers to a person who isn't very smart. You might be called a dolt if you do something dumb, like stand outside your car complaining that you locked your keys inside — even though the window is wide open. Let's be honest — you never want to be called a dolt. And if you're a kind person, you'll never call anyone else a dolt — unless they do something so frustratingly stupid that you can't take it anymore. Dolt probably came from the Middle English word dullen, meaning "to dull, make or become dazed or stupid." To help remember what dolt means, say it out loud, with gusto. With its guttural sound, the word itself sounds not very bright.
Vocabulary lists containing dolt
We Are Not Free
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The Mysterious Benedict Society
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The Son of Neptune
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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.
See Examples For:
“I didn’t want to be the dolt father who keeps getting the family in trouble,” he said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
Now I can sense more than a few people calling me a dolt.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2022
But the finest wigs and tattoos can only take the audience so far in viewing Lee, a man dripping with sleaze, as a short-fused dolt who is honestly and obviously in love with his wife.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2022
The long-nosed fire chief of a Washington ski town helps a dolt woo the astronomer he loves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2019
It couldn’t be Toby already—the dolt had only just left for the morning’s luggage pickup an hour ago.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
But naturally the actors are not portraying them in the guise of the movie’s endearing dolts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2025
The wives’ decision to journey to Lourdes is met with great resistance by their husbands, all of whom are portrayed as clueless dolts.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
Well, these dolts are almost certainly going to get their wish: it’s hard to imagine that the SEC continues with just eight conference games once Texas and Oklahoma enter the fold.
From Fox News ● Aug. 12, 2021
Instead, he presents them as borderline dolts, barely functioning adults defined by behavioral quirks and psychological soft spots.
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2018
Never before had I seen my family as such half-wits, such hayseeds, such dolts.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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.
