idiot
Americannoun
-
Informal. an utterly foolish or senseless person.
If you think you can wear that outfit to a job interview and get hired, you're an idiot!
-
Psychology. (no longer in technical use; considered offensive) a person of the lowest order in a former and discarded classification of intellectual disability, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25.
noun
-
a person with severe mental retardation
-
a foolish or senseless person
Other Word Forms
- idiotic adjective
Etymology
Origin of idiot
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin idiōta, from Greek idiṓtēs “private person, layman, person lacking skill or expertise,” equivalent to idiō- (lengthened variant of idio- idio-, perhaps by analogy with stratiōtēs “professional soldier,” derivative of stratiá “army”) + -tēs agent noun suffix
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.
On the related but perhaps irrelevant question of individual character, the evidence is clear: Wilhelm II was an unstable and vainglorious idiot who wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
Turnbull -- who has described Taylor as the "best-qualified idiot" around -- warned the party faced disaster if it continued down that path.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
Instead, it’s an unforced error; if you forgot about this mostly forgotten affair, well, he’s here to remind you that he was an idiot in one specific way at least once.
From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026
“I’ve changed a lot as a filmmaker, but I’m still the same idiot I’ve always been. That’s the bad news,” Iñárritu says laughing.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
To Mikhail, she said, “Take the three of them to the guest suites. They can stay next to that idiot bogatyr who thinks I’m going to marry him.”
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
