foolproof
Americanadjective
-
involving no risk or harm, even when tampered with.
-
never-failing.
a foolproof method.
adjective
-
proof against failure; infallible
a foolproof idea
-
(esp of machines) proof against human misuse, error, etc
Etymology
Origin of foolproof
Explanation
When something is bound to work out, you can call it foolproof. Your foolproof plan for having a great summer might involve spending lots of time at the beach. If your dog tends to wander and can also jump six feet in the air, a foolproof plan for keeping her in your yard might involve an eight foot fence. You can also use foolproof as a verb: "I'm going to foolproof the instructions for heating up your dinner, so that no one sets the stove on fire this time." Foolproof is an early twentieth century American English word that combines fool, or "silly person" and proof, "resistant."
Vocabulary lists containing foolproof
Game Changer
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Old Yeller
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The Bad Beginning
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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.
Large said there was no foolproof shortcut to determining whether a mushroom was poisonous.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
“I don’t think there’s any foolproof method of dealing with cognitive decline or fraud where the person truly believes what’s being told to them,” said Anspach.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
But Meta acknowledges that it doesn’t have a foolproof system for preventing teens from creating—or asking someone else to create—a fake parent supervisory account.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
He said Modi had called for a "foolproof system" to prevent irregularities in the future at a closed-door meeting with his allies on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
It was foolproof, and soon Valfierno and Chaudron left for Europe in search of even wealthier fools to fleece.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
