Meanings
- Resembling; having the likeness of (usually including the concept of not being the same despite the likeness, but counterexamples exist).
geo- + -oid → geoid
3 more examples
human + -oid → humanoid
sterol + -oid → steroid
ellipse + -oid → ellipsoid
Synonyms: quasi-, para-, -form, -iform, -esque, -ish, -ly, -some
- uncommonOf, pertaining to, or related to.
myelo- + -oid → myeloid
2 more examples
lympho- + -oid → lymphoid
aster- + -oid → asteroid
- Added to nouns to create derogatory terms, typically referring to a particular ideology or group of people.
west + -oid → westoid
4 more examples
waste + -oid → wastoid
left + -oid → leftoid
right + -oid → rightoid
goblin + -oid → goblinoid
- category theoryAdded typically to the name of an algebraic structure, to denote the horizontal categorification of that structure.
ring + -oid → ringoid
3 more examples
group + -oid → groupoid
Lie algebra + -oid → Lie algebroid
monoid + -oid → monoidoid
Synonyms & antonyms
suffixResembling; having the likeness of (usually including the concept of not being the same despite the likeness, but counterexamples exist).
Origin
- Ancient Greek-ο-ειδής
- Latin-oīdēs
- English-oid
Learned borrowing from Latin -oīdēs, from Ancient Greek -ο-ειδής (-o-eidḗs) (the ο being the last vowel of the stem to which the suffix is attached); from εἶδος (eîdos, “form, likeness”). The sense for derogatorily naming groups of people comes from a (originally satirical) reapplication from the usage of the suffix in phrenological and early anthropological terminology (e.g., Mongoloid, Caucasoid, etc.). While often viewed as offensive today, these ethnic terms were not meant to be derogatory inside these fields themselves, but were rather reapplications of the usage found in other scientific settings.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek -ειδής
- -ειδής (-eidḗs)suffix meaning similar but not the same
Catalan -oide
- -oidesuffix meaning similar but not the same
Chinese Mandarin 類 /类
- 類 /类 (lèi)suffix meaning similar but not the same
Dutch -oïde
- -oïdesuffix meaning similar but not the same
Esperanto -oido
- -oidosuffix meaning similar but not the same
Finnish -oidi, -mainen
- -oidisuffix meaning similar but not the same
- -mainensuffix meaning similar but not the same
French -oïde
- -oïdesuffix meaning similar but not the same
Greek -ειδής, -ειδές
- -ειδής (-eidís)suffix meaning similar but not the same
- -ειδές (-eidés)suffix meaning similar but not the same
- -ειδείς (-eideís)suffix meaning similar but not the same
Italian -oide
- -oidesuffix meaning similar but not the same
Latin -oīdēs
- -oīdēssuffix meaning similar but not the same
Polish -oid, -oida
- -oidsuffix meaning similar but not the same
- -oidasuffix meaning similar but not the same
Portuguese -oide
- -oidesuffix meaning similar but not the same
Spanish -oide
- -oidesuffix meaning similar but not the same
Ukrainian -оїд
- -оїд (-ojid)suffix meaning similar but not the same
Cite this entry
-oid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oid
“-oid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oid. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-oid,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oid.
Source: -oid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.