Advertisement

Advertisement

factoid

[ fak-toid ]

noun

  1. an insignificant or trivial fact.
  2. something fictitious or unsubstantiated that is presented as fact, devised especially to gain publicity and accepted because of constant repetition.


factoid

/ ˈfæktɔɪd /

noun

  1. a piece of unreliable information believed to be true because of the way it is presented or repeated in print
“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


Discover More

Other Words From

  • fac·toidal adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of factoid1

First recorded in 1973; fact + -oid
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of factoid1

C20 (coined by Norman Mailer ): from fact + -oid
Discover More

Example Sentences

Factoids like this often form the basis of conservative and libertarian arguments about government waste or overreach.

The answers to factoid questions are easy to find in knowledge bases compared with nuanced complex open-domain questions such as the one in the passage indexing example provided by Google.

Each of these factoids gets joined up with billions of others in a sprawling, interconnected network of facts.

The Democratic PACs had outraised them, which is an interesting little factoid in and of itself.

What is wrong and embarrassing is the President of the United States reciting a massively discredited factoid.

Though it does note that she has a tattoo—and that factoid is helpfully paired with the phrase “tough as nails.”

And by consumer and supplier agreement, no fact, factoid, or truthiness is too small to register.

McCarthy contributes the factoid, “We have four million more government jobs in America than manufacturing jobs.”

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


fact of lifefactor