noddy

American  

[nod-ee] / ˈnɒd i /

noun

noddies plural

1. any of several dark-bodied terns of the genera Anous and Micranous found about the coasts and islands in warm seas of both the New and Old Worlds, often so tame as to seem stupid.

2. a fool or simpleton; noodle.

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noddy ¹ British  

/ ˈnɒdɪ /

noun

1. any of several tropical terns of the genus Anous, esp A. stolidus ( common noddy ), typically having a dark plumage

2. a fool or dunce

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noddy ² British  

/ ˈnɒdɪ /

noun

1. (usually plural) television film footage of an interviewer's reactions to comments made by an interviewee, used in editing the interview after it has been recorded

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noddy ³ British  

/ ˈnɒdɪ /

adjective

1. informal very easy to use or understand; simplistic

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• noddies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of noddy

1520–30; perhaps noun use of obsolete noddy (adj.) silly. See nod, -y ¹

Example Sentences

He captured this lesser noddy caught in a collosal spider's net on the Seychelles island.

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2013

We saw bonito tuna in schools jumping while noddy terns dove into the water.

From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2011

Cressid means, that a noddy shall have more nods.

From Notes to Shakespeare, Volume III: The Tragedies by Sherbo, Arthur

The booby, Mr McRitchie told us, is a species of gannet, and the noddy a species of tern.

From A Voyage round the World A book for boys by Kingston, William Henry Giles

The mayor may be and probably is a noddy, but his critics do not know why.

From The "Goldfish" by Train, Arthur Cheney