schmo
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of schmo
An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; of obscure origin
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:
Ed Sheeran wouldn’t let just any old schmo accompany him on “Thinking Out Loud” in front of 70,000 people, especially on an instrument they’ve only played for a few weeks.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2025
“He or she is going to passively take whatever tweeting rights and whatever content Twitter the company provides, and whoever’s calling the shots, joe schmo Twitter user doesn’t have any control.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2022
Anderson is a genius, he says, while he’s a schmo.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 31, 2018
That bodes poorly for your typical marketing schmo trying to glean meaning from a Google analytics page—all he can do is try to stack enough data to overcome his statistical problems.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2014
"Way to go, way to schmo," Sandi snaps.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
The not-so-shocking revelation of the original “Squid Game” was that these poor schmoes were being toyed and done away with for the entertainment of the jaded rich.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Judge has more sympathy with ordinary schmoes who just want to do a job they believe in for eight to 10 hours a day, then go home and play video games.
From The Verge ● Oct. 25, 2019
The point is, I even made my schmoes taller than I was.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2019
Instead of relying on schmoes to mock draft based on their hunches, a computer could learn how to draft based on data.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2016
Not insignificantly their put-upon schmoes are often coping with conditions more serious than arrested development.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2012
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.
