klutz
Americannoun
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a clumsy, awkward person.
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a stupid or foolish person; blockhead.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of klutz
1965–70, < Yiddish klots literally, wooden beam < Middle High German kloc ( German Klotz )
Explanation
If you're awkward and clumsy, you can call yourself a klutz. If a klutz is carrying a tray of full glasses across a dining room, you can be sure they'll end up on the floor. This informal word is perfect for talking about a goofy oaf who trips over his own feet and seems to drop anything he's holding. You might say, "Don't let my brother move your TV — he's such a klutz!" Klutz is the Americanized version of the Yiddish klots, which means "block or lump," and also "clumsy person or blockhead." A related word in German is klotz, "boor, clod, or wooden block."
Vocabulary lists containing klutz
Awkward Moments
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More English Words Derived from Yiddish
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Whoops! Synonyms for "Clumsy"
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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:
Yiddish, the language spoken by Ashkenazi Jews across Europe before the Holocaust, is now perhaps best known to many English speakers through words such as "schlep", "klutz" and "chutzpah".
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025
Haider is a klutz — “by the grace of Allah, you’re really terrible,” a director groans — and the theater’s finances make zero sense.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2023
As for durability, I’ve never broken an Apple Watch before — and I’m a klutz.
From The Verge ● Aug. 31, 2022
My wife is by her own account a complete klutz.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2020
Beatrice was such a phenomenal athlete that Roy couldn’t imagine her falling down the stairs like some ordinary klutz.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
The company of performers assembled to perform this hoary property consists of has-beens, wannabes, klutzes and martyred veterans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2025
But none of these addresses the underlying problem; namely, that cell-phone owners are human beings, and are therefore klutzes.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 5, 2019
If NBA referees are true to their word, this fumbling will allow even the most brick-handed klutzes to slash through defenses like their favorite pros.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2019
Luckily, the real bomb squads have so far mostly had to deal with klutzes, not the kind of brilliantly skilled practitioner Perry introduces to us in his work of fiction.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2017
That’s better than the “kick-to-open” kind for klutzes like me.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2017
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.
