Word.ws English Dictionary

lackwit

lackwit noun: a witless person; a fool.

Noun

lackwit (plural lackwits)

  1. A witless person; a fool.
    • Fear flashed through Tom's eyes as the lackwit looked to the housekeeper.1996, Denise Domning, A Love for All Seasons, page 82
    • “Enunciation, Piper. Enunciation. Don't make people think you're a lackwit.”2007, Glen Cook, Lord of the Silent Kingdom

Adjective

lackwit (comparative more lackwit, superlative most lackwit)

  1. Foolish; idiotic or simple-minded.
    • An evil, however, accompanied the benefit; shoals of worthless authors sprang up, and you may still perceive the garreteer drawing upon his lackwit brain for some production, the labour of which he expects will be paid by the declaration of his country, that a second Boileau, a Montesquieu, or a...1818, Peter Hervé, How to enjoy Paris, page 257
    • One wall was painted with the story of St Robert the hermit and his persecution by Sir William de Stuteville, while the other depicted the cowherd Caedmon, albeit looking too lackwit to herd a hen let alone wax lyrical.2016, Isolde Martyn, The Knight and the Rose

Forms of lackwit

Noun
plurallackwits
Adjective
comparativemore lackwit
superlativemost lackwit

Origin of lackwit

From lack + wit.

Questions about lackwit

What does lackwit mean?
Lackwit means a witless person; a fool.
What part of speech is lackwit?
Lackwit can be a noun or an adjective.
What is the plural of lackwit?
The plural of lackwit is lackwits.

Words near lackwit in the dictionary

  1. Lackrana
  2. lacks
  3. lackstock
  4. lackstocks
  5. lackt
  6. lackwit
  7. lackwits
  8. lackwitted
  9. lackwittedness
  10. lacky
  11. lacky band

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lackwit (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.

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