fool
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- pronunciation:
- ful
- parts of speech:
- noun, verb
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
A fool is a person who doesn't think carefully and doesn't make good decisions.
Ian felt like a fool after he lost all the money he had saved at the fair. He said he spent all his money and didn't win even one little prize. |
| definition 2: |
A fool is a person who is easily tricked or made to look silly. Sometimes people call another person a fool when they laugh at them.
Let's play a trick on Martin. He's such a fool that he'll believe anything.- similar words:
- pigeon, sap
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| definition 3: |
Being a fool was a job that existed in the past. A king or other noble person would employ a fool to make him laugh or to make his guests laugh. Another word for "fool" is "jester."
The king was bored, so he called for his royal fool to entertain him.- similar words:
- clown
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| related words: |
comedian |
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| part of speech: |
verb |
| inflections: |
fools, fooling, fooled |
| definition 1: |
When you fool someone, you trick them into believing something that isn't true.
I fooled my sister when I told her there was a spider on her head.- synonyms:
- deceive, trick
- similar words:
- cheat
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| definition 2: |
If you are fooling, you are kidding or joking. When you are fooling, you are pretending about something.
Harris was fooling when he said that his dad was a famous movie star. His dad is really a dentist!Ryan acted as if he was going to jump in the river, but, as usual, he was only fooling. |
| definition 3: |
When you fool around, you act in a silly way or waste time playing without any purpose.
Ryan's mother told him to stop fooling around at the grocery store.You shouldn't fool around with electrical things. It could be dangerous.- similar words:
- fiddle around, play
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| related words: |
joke, lie |
Fool comes from
follis, a Latin word that means "bellows" or "leather bag." Later, it came to be used for an empty-headed person.