numbskull
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of numbskull
First recorded in 1690–1700 as numpscull; current spelling first recorded in a letter by Jonathan Swift; numb + skull
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.
But why was he screaming like a numbskull at the end of the finale?
From New York Times • May 24, 2016
As an economics numbskull, I would plump for the latter.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2015
A guy from the numbskull village of Abdera sees a eunuch talking to a woman and asks another guy if she's the eunuch's wife.
From Scientific American • Sep. 25, 2014
I recall a rogue camera placed directly in my face for about half the concert… hopefully that numbskull doesn’t get any footage in the final version.
From Forbes • Jul. 21, 2013
She probably thought I was a bigger numbskull than ever.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
