Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A foolish or stupid person.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A weak-minded or idiotic person; also, a dolt; a blockhead.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A foolish person; a dolt; a blockhead; a dunce.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person of around half the average intelligence of his or her peers
  • noun A stupid or inept person

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a stupid incompetent person
  • noun a person of subnormal intelligence

Etymologies

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Examples

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  • "Half-wits are fleas; so little and so light,

    We scarce could know they live, but that they bite."

    (Dryden, "All for Love")

    August 5, 2009