# factoid

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈfæk.tɔɪd/ · frequency rank #79,503

## Definitions
1. An inaccurate statement or statistic believed to be true because of broad repetition, especially if cited in the media.
2. An interesting item of trivia; a minor fact.

## Etymology
From fact + -oid (“similar, but not the same”); coined by American writer Norman Mailer in 1973 in Marilyn: A Biography, defined as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority".

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/factoid