fool

[[t]fu͟ːl[/t]]

♦♦♦

fools, fooling, fooled

1) N-COUNT (disapproval) If you call someone a fool, you are indicating that you think they are not at all sensible and show a lack of good judgement.

`You fool!' she shouted...

He'd been a fool to get involved with her!

Syn:

idiot

2) ADJ: ADJ n (disapproval) Fool is used to describe an action or person that is not at all sensible and shows a lack of good judgement. [mainly AM, INFORMAL]

What a damn fool thing to do!...

What can that fool guard be thinking of?

3) VERB If someone fools you, they deceive or trick you.

[V n] Art dealers fool a lot of people...

[V n] Don't be fooled by his appearance...

[V n into -ing] They tried to fool you into coming after us.

Syn:

trick, con

4) VERB If you say that a person is fooling with something or someone, you mean that the way they are behaving is likely to cause problems.

[V with n] What are you doing fooling with such a staggering sum of money?...

[V with n] He kept telling her that here you did not fool with officials.

5) N-COUNT: usu the N In the courts of kings and queens in medieval Europe, the fool was the person whose job was to do silly things in order to make people laugh.

Syn:

jester

6) N-VAR Fool is a dessert made by mixing soft cooked fruit with whipped cream or with custard. [BRIT]

...gooseberry fool.

7) PHRASE: V and N inflect If you make a fool of someone, you make them seem silly by telling people about something stupid that they have done, or by tricking them.

Your brother is making a fool of you...

He'd been made a fool of.

8) PHRASE: V and N inflect If you make a fool of yourself, you behave in a way that makes other people think that you are silly or lacking in good judgement.

He was drinking and making a fool of himself.

9) PHRASE (disapproval) If you say to someone `More fool you' when they tell you what they have done or what they plan to do, you are indicating that you think that it is silly and shows a lack of judgement. [BRIT]

Most managers couldn't care less about information technology. More fool them.

10) PHRASE: V inflects If you play the fool or act the fool, you behave in a playful, childish, and foolish way, usually in order to make other people laugh.

They used to play the fool together, calling each other silly names and giggling.

Syn:

mess about

11) to suffer fools gladly → see suffer

Phrasal Verbs:

- fool about

- fool around