idiot
id·i·ot/ˈɪdiət/noun, adjective
idiot is spelled I-D-I-O-T: 5 letters and 3 syllables (id·i·ot). It appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,683rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, idiot means “A person of low general intelligence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of idiot is idiots.
How many letters and syllables are in idiot?
| Letters | 5: I-D-I-O-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: id·i·ot |
| In writing | 25 times per million words; the 3,683rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is idiot?
Idiot appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,683rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce idiot?
- US /ˈɪdiət/
- /ˈɪd͡ʒət/
Idiot has 3 syllables, split id·i·ot in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-idiot.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of idiot
- idiots plural
- more idiot comparative
- most idiot superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does idiot mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryA person of low general intelligence.
Only an idiot would fail this exam.
- 2
derogatoryA person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
He thought people who don't like cricket are idiots. He later got into fights with people who like football.
- 3
obsoleteA person of the lowest intellectual standing, a person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old; a person with an IQ below 30.
adjective
- 1
Idiotic, stupid.
noun
- 1
derogatoryslangA proponent of intelligent design.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Idiot in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person of low general intelligence:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | idiot, idiote, imbécile, bouffon, bouffonne, crétin |
| German | Idiot, Idiotin, Narr, Närrin, Dummkopf, dumme Gans |
| Portuguese | idiota |
| Spanish | idiota |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does idiot come from?
From Middle English idiote, ydiote, from Old French idiote (later idiot), from Latin idiota, from Ancient Greek ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs, “a private citizen, one who has no professional knowledge, layman”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private”). Doublet of idiota. By surface analysis, idi- + -ot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).