idiot-proof

adjective

Incapable of being misused even by the most stupid or careless of users.

“I tell you, this scheme is idiot-proof! It can't go wrong.”

OriginEnglish proof ← Middle English ydiote ← Old French idiote →
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Meanings

adjectiveidiot-proof (comparative more idiot-proof, superlative most idiot-proof)

comparative more idiot-proof · superlative most idiot-proof · alternative idiotproof

  1. humorousinformalIncapable of being misused even by the most stupid or careless of users.

    I tell you, this scheme is idiot-proof! It can't go wrong.

verbidiot-proof (third-person singular simple present idiot-proofs, present participle idiot-proofing, simple past and past participle idiot-proofed)

present singular third person idiot-proofs · participle present idiot-proofing · participle past idiot-proofed · past idiot-proofed · alternative idiotproof

  1. transitiveTo render something idiot-proof.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
droolprooffailproof

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé
  2. Proto-Indo-European*swéd-yo-s
  3. Proto-Hellenic*hwédios
  4. Ancient Greekἴδιος (ídios)
  5. Ancient Greekἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs)
  6. Latinidiota
  7. Old Frenchidiote
  8. Middle Englishydiote
  9. Englishidiot
  10. Englishproof
  11. Englishidiot-proof

From idiot + -proof.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

idiot-proof. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idiot-proof

MLA

“idiot-proof.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idiot-proof. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “idiot-proof,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/idiot-proof.

Source: idiot-proof on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.