dolt
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
Steve Wozniak is a Dolt that lives in the PAST, babbling constantly about jokes and Phreaking he did in his youth.
From Forbes • Nov. 10, 2011
"Fundamental-ist," "Denouncer," "Loud Baptist," "Saint," "Savior," "Hypocrite," "Dolt" have been variously tried by friends and enemies; none have seemed adequate.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Uncle Dolt, my sister called him. It's Cersei and Tyrion who concern me. As well as my lord father."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Dolt that you are, do not you see that this plot enables our Queen to learn what the Huguenots can do with the Duc d'Alençon, and what the King means to do with the Huguenots?
From The Works of Honor? de Balzac About Catherine de' Medici, Seraphita and Other Stories by Balzac, Honor? de
Dolt that he had been to let this human leper escape from him into the world again!
From The Witness by Lutz, Grace Livingston Hill
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.
