Word.ws English Dictionary

idiot light

idiot light noun: any warning light or indicator on the dashboard of a car, designed to alert the driver to problems, such as the parking brake being on or the oil being low.

Noun

idiot light (plural idiot lights)

  1. (slang) Any warning light or indicator on the dashboard of a car, designed to alert the driver to problems, such as the parking brake being on or the oil being low.

Synonyms of idiot light

Forms of idiot light

pluralidiot lights

Origin of idiot light

From idiot + light, suggesting that even a stupid person with no mechanical knowledge can recognize a problem when thus indicated.

Questions about idiot light

What does idiot light mean?
Idiot light means any warning light or indicator on the dashboard of a car, designed to alert the driver to problems, such as the parking brake being on or the oil being low.
What part of speech is idiot light?
Idiot light is a noun.
What is the plural of idiot light?
The plural of idiot light is idiot lights.

Words near idiot light in the dictionary

  1. idiot cards
  2. idiot end
  3. idiot ends
  4. idiot girl
  5. idiot girls
  6. idiot light
  7. idiot lights
  8. idiot mittens
  9. idiot sandwich
  10. idiot sandwiches
  11. idiot savant

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: idiot light (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-idiot light.ogg.

Cite this entry: “idiot light.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/idiot_light. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.