Phrase guide

mad as a hatter

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌmæd æz ə ˈhætə/
  • US: /ˌmæd æz ə ˈhætɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Crazy or demented.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

First recorded 1829. Of uncertain origin, though usually explained as referring to hat-makers suffering from Erethism due to handling mercury-contaminated felt. Derivation from Old English ātor (“poison”) or its descendant English atter lacks evidence.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: stapelgek — demented or crazy
  • Dutch: gek als een deur — demented or crazy
  • Finnish: pähkähullu — demented or crazy
  • Hungarian: sült bolond — demented or crazy
  • Hungarian: teljesen bolond — demented or crazy
  • Icelandic: bandvitlaus — demented or crazy
  • Italian: fuori di testa — demented or crazy
  • Italian: fuori come un balcone — demented or crazy
  • Italian: matto da legare — demented or crazy
  • Russian: спя́тивший (spjátivšij) — demented or crazy
  • Russian: не в своём уме́ (ne v svojóm umé) — demented or crazy
  • Russian: вы́живший из ума́ (výživšij iz umá) — demented or crazy
  • Spanish: más loco que una cabra — demented or crazy
  • Spanish: como una chota — demented or crazy
  • Spanish: como una regadera — demented or crazy
  • Swedish: skogstokig — demented or crazy
  • Swedish: spritt språngande galen — demented or crazy
  • Swedish: skvatt galen — demented or crazy