# idiot

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɪdiət/ · frequency rank #3,697

## Definitions
1. A person of low general intelligence.
2. A person who makes stupid decisions; a fool.
3. A 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.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **IIT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiot-vs-iit)
- **idol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiot-vs-idol)
- **init** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiot-vs-init)
- **indio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiot-vs-indio)
- **idiots** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiot-vs-idiots)
- **indict** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiot-vs-indict)
- **idiotic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiot-vs-idiotic)
- **idiom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiom-vs-idiot)
- **idiocy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/idiocy-vs-idiot)

## Common misspellings (6)
`diiot`, `iddiot`, `idiott`, `idito`, `idoit`, `iidot`

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