dolt

/dɒlt/

//dɒlt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dolt" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dolt” is uncommon English (frequency #61,423 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,423
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A stupid person; a blockhead or dullard.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dolt · dolt · English

dolt · rank #61,423 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,423
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH donk

Nearest frequency peer: donk (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “dolt”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “dolt” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dolt
PropertyValue
Headworddolt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dɒlt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#61,423
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dolt” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).doltlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “donk” (#61,424), “Dothan” (#61,425), “disorganised” (#61,420). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dolt is uncommon English at frequency #61,423 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɒlt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A stupid person; a blockhead or dullard.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for dolt, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: First used as a noun in Early Modern English, from dialectal English dold (“stupid, confused”), from Middle English dold, a variant of dulled, dult (“dulled”), past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make dull, make stupid”), from dull, dul, dwal (“stupid”).… The correct English form is dolt, spelled D-O-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A stupid person; a blockhead or dullard.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dolt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. O Gull, oh dolt, / As ignorant as durt:[…]
  2. Moſt Monſter-like, be ſhewne / For poor'ſt Diminutiues, for Dolts, […]

Etymology

First used as a noun in Early Modern English, from dialectal English dold (“stupid, confused”), from Middle English dold, a variant of dulled, dult (“dulled”), past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make dull, make stupid”), from dull, dul, dwal (“stupid”). More at dull.

This word in other languages

estúpido(Español)imbécile(Français)Blödmann(Deutsch)imbecil(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dolt"?
"dolt" is spelled D-O-L-T. The IPA pronunciation is /dɒlt/.
What does "dolt" mean?
As a noun, "dolt" means: A stupid person; a blockhead or dullard.
How do you pronounce "dolt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dolt" is /dɒlt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dolt"?
First used as a noun in Early Modern English, from dialectal English dold (“stupid, confused”), from Middle English dold, a variant of dulled, dult (“dulled”), past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make dull, make stupid”), from dull, dul, dwal (... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dolt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

donk#61,424ende#61,443Geer#61,489Gumi#61,508

What to do next

You've looked up "dolt". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #61,423 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list