From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishidiotid‧i‧ot /ˈɪdiət/ ●●○ S3 noun [countable] 1 STUPID/NOT SENSIBLEa stupid person or someone who has done something stupid It was all your fault, you idiot.2 old useSTUPID/NOT INTELLIGENT someone who is mentally ill or has a very low level of intelligence —idiotic /ˌɪdiˈɒtɪk◂ $ -ˈɑːt-/ adjective Stop asking such idiotic questions. —idiotically /-kli/ adverb
Examples from the Corpus
idiot• I would be an idiot to recommend it to the leader.• Stop treating me like an idiot -- I can count you know!• But then, like an idiot, I go down.• I must have managed an expression half way between a brave smile and the grin of an idiot.• You think he's an idiot, because he gets things wrong-the background, the politics, Walter, us.• I fear he is truly an idiot.• If you couldn't handle your booze then you were a bloody idiot to drink and drive, that was not negotiable.• Only a very disinterested idiot could miss, and be unimpressed by, either.• Whenever I phone the bank I get through to some idiot who sounds about twelve years old.• You idiot! What did you do that for?Origin idiot (1300-1400) Latin idiota “person who knows nothing”, from Greek idiotes “private person, person who knows nothing”, from idios “own, personal, private” 