klutz

[kluhts]

noun

Slang.

1. a clumsy, awkward person.

2. a stupid or foolish person; blockhead.

klutz

/ klʌts /

noun

1. slang,  a clumsy or stupid person

Other Word Forms

• klutzy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of klutz¹

1965–70, < Yiddish klots literally, wooden beam < Middle High German kloc ( German Klotz )

Word History and Origins

Origin of klutz¹

from German Klotz dolt; compare _clot

Example Sentences

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".

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The company of performers assembled to perform this hoary property consists of has-beens, wannabes, klutzes and martyred veterans.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And while I’ve long lusted over hand-built fountains and elaborate ponds, I’m a klutz when it comes to building things from scratch.

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She brought up President Ford, who once tripped and was forever branded a klutz, thanks in part to a “Saturday Night Live” skit.

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Haider is a klutz — “by the grace of Allah, you’re really terrible,” a director groans — and the theater’s finances make zero sense.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• bumbler www.thesaurus.com