schmuck
Americannoun
-
schmucks
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of schmuck
First recorded in 1890–95, schmuck is from the Yiddish word shmok (vulgar) literally, “penis” (of uncertain origin)
Compare meaning
How does schmuck compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A schmuck is a loser, idiot, or jerk. This Yiddish word is a little old-fashioned and not very harsh. If you've ever felt like a dummy or sucker, you've felt like a schmuck. This is one of many Yiddish words for "jerk" or "idiot" that are common in English, including schmo, schlub, schlemiel, and schnook. Old-fashioned and kind of unusual, schmuck is probably one of the least mean ways to call someone a loser.
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:
SpaceX is so big that lots of funds would have bought SpaceX at almost any price in order not to trail the benchmark and look dumb—so-called schmuck insurance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
“And I’ve always loved that the ultimate arbiter of any performance has been the audience and not some schmuck producer or executive producer.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
"They called me the schmuck from Hanover," he laughs.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2023
"He turned out to be the biggest schmuck I've ever met," she said.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2023
“You’ve been making a schmuck out of yourself for years, Nate,” Libby says.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
In their places stood Jerry Seinfeld, Seth Rogen, and Adam Sandler, who were deep trenches of playing schmucks and schlubs.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2021
The not-exactly-hidden subtext being, "that won't happen again, schmucks".
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2019
“And we’re the schmucks that are paying for the whole thing.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2018
“We’re the schmucks that are paying for the whole thing,” he said.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2018
Jonah Hill and Miles Teller play a couple of schmucks who manage to make big bucks in the international arms trade in the fact-based 2016 dark comedy "War Dogs."
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2017
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
