Standard Lemma guide

nincompoop

noun · 2 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: /ˈnɪŋkəmpuːp/
  • General-American: /ˈnɪŋkəmˌpup/
  • General-American: /ˈnɪn-/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: N IH1 NG K AH0 M P UW2 P Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A foolish or silly person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dunderhead, fool, imbecile, nitwit, gaby, hammerhead, putz, alcatote, asshat, arsehole, asshole, bayard, berk, birdbrain, blither, bobchin, bonehead, bozo, buffoon, brickhead, Charlie, chucklehead, chowderhead, chump, clart, clown, der-brain, dill pickle, dim bulb, dimwit, dingleberry, dipshit, dipstick, dirtbrain, div, divvo, divvy, dolt, donk, doodle, doofus, dope, dork, dote, dotterel, dullard, dumbass, dumbbell, dumbo, dumb fuck, dummy, dunce, dupe, fathead, fenderhead, fiddle, fuckwit, fuzznut, geck, gig, gink, goober, gooseberry, gowk, gubbins, gump, half-baked, ha'p'orth, Homer Simpson, ignoramus, jamoke, jerk, jerkoff, jolterhead, jolthead, juggins, jughead, knucklehead, lamebrain, mameluke (US (Italian-American), slang), maroon, meathead, mong, moron, mug, muggins, mushhead, nimrod, nincompoop, nit, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, numskull, numps, numpty, nupson, oaf, pillock, pinhead, plonker, prat, retard, shit for brains, shithead, shitwit, schmo, schmuck, smooth brain, snapperhead, softhead, sohai, sot, stupid, sucker, thickhead, tonto, tool, tosser, tosspot, tubelight, twat, twerp, twit, wally, wantwit, wazzock, yampy

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a stupid foolish person

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: poop, ninny

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: simpleton, simple

History

Etymology

Uncertain; the first element nincom- is possibly from the name Nicholas or Nicodemus (compare French nicodème (“foolish or gullible person”), from the Pharisee named Nicodemus mentioned in the Bible who asks Jesus seemingly naive questions: see John 3:1–21), or from ninny (“foolish or silly person”), while the second element -poop could be derived from poop (“(obsolete) to cheat, deceive, fool”). The English lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) suggested that the first element might be from Latin non compos (mentis) (“not of sound mind”), but the Oxford English Dictionary notes that this does not correspond with early forms of the word from the 16th century such as nickumpoop and nicompoop.

Across languages

Translations

120 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: ապուշ (apuš) — foolish or silly person
  • Armenian: հիմար (himar) — foolish or silly person
  • Armenian: տխմար (txmar) — foolish or silly person
  • Bulgarian: глупак (glupak) — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: babau — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: beneit — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: estúpid — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: fava — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: idiota — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: imbècil — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: panoli — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: tonto — foolish or silly person
  • Catalan: ximple — foolish or silly person
  • Chinese Mandarin: 笨人 (bènrén) — foolish or silly person
  • Chinese Mandarin: 傻子 (shǎzi) — foolish or silly person
  • Czech: hlupák — foolish or silly person
  • Czech: idiot — foolish or silly person
  • Danish: fjols — foolish or silly person
  • Danish: idiot — foolish or silly person
  • Danish: knallert — foolish or silly person
  • Danish: skvadderhoved — foolish or silly person
  • Dutch: domoor — foolish or silly person
  • Dutch: lomperd — foolish or silly person
  • Dutch: oetlul — foolish or silly person
  • Dutch: oelewapper — foolish or silly person
  • Dutch: stommeling — foolish or silly person
  • Finnish: tohelo — foolish or silly person
  • Finnish: tollo — foolish or silly person
  • Finnish: tolvana — foolish or silly person
  • French: abruti — foolish or silly person
  • French: benêt — foolish or silly person
  • French: bercé trop près du mur — foolish or silly person
  • French: cloche — foolish or silly person
  • French: con — foolish or silly person
  • French: connard — foolish or silly person
  • French: cornichon — foolish or silly person
  • French: crétin — foolish or silly person
  • French: dadais — foolish or silly person
  • French: débile — foolish or silly person
  • French: demeuré — foolish or silly person
  • French: démoulé trop tôt — foolish or silly person
  • French: gourde — foolish or silly person
  • French: imbécile — foolish or silly person
  • French: mal cuit — foolish or silly person
  • French: niais — foolish or silly person
  • French: nigaud — foolish or silly person
  • French: ravi — foolish or silly person
  • French: simplet — foolish or silly person
  • French: sot — foolish or silly person
  • German: Dummkopf — foolish or silly person
  • German: Einfaltspinsel — foolish or silly person
  • German: Trottel — foolish or silly person
  • Greek: κουτορνίθι (koutorníthi) — foolish or silly person
  • Hebrew: טפש (tipesh) — foolish or silly person
  • Hebrew: טפשה (tipsha) — foolish or silly person
  • Hindi: साला (sālā) — foolish or silly person
  • Hindi: बेवक़ूफ़ (bevqūf) — foolish or silly person
  • Icelandic: beinasni — foolish or silly person
  • Icelandic: einfeldningur — foolish or silly person
  • Icelandic: fábjáni — foolish or silly person
  • Icelandic: fáviti — foolish or silly person
  • Icelandic: fífl — foolish or silly person
  • Italian: babbeo — foolish or silly person
  • Italian: coglione — foolish or silly person
  • Italian: cretino — foolish or silly person
  • Italian: idiota — foolish or silly person
  • Italian: imbecille — foolish or silly person
  • Italian: stupido — foolish or silly person
  • Japanese: あんぽんたん — foolish or silly person
  • Japanese: うすらとんかち — foolish or silly person
  • Japanese: おたんちん — foolish or silly person
  • Māori: poroheahea — foolish or silly person
  • Māori: ngoungoua — foolish or silly person
  • Māori: wawau — foolish or silly person
  • Māori: pōrewarewa — foolish or silly person
  • Marathi: अर्धवट (ardhavaṭ) — foolish or silly person
  • Norwegian: tullebukk — foolish or silly person
  • Polish: głupiec — foolish or silly person
  • Polish: głupek — foolish or silly person
  • Polish: matołek — foolish or silly person
  • Polish: gamoń — foolish or silly person
  • Portuguese: bobo — foolish or silly person
  • Portuguese: idiota — foolish or silly person
  • Portuguese: imbecil — foolish or silly person
  • Portuguese: palerma — foolish or silly person
  • Portuguese: tolo — foolish or silly person
  • Russian: дурачо́к (duračók) — foolish or silly person
  • Serbo-Croatian: glupan — foolish or silly person
  • Serbo-Croatian: glupko — foolish or silly person
  • Serbo-Croatian: idiot — foolish or silly person
  • Serbo-Croatian: nesposobnjaković — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: bendito — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: bobo — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: ceporro — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: zoquete — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: zopenco — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: cenutrio — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: gilipollas — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: imbécil — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: lila — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: majadero — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: memo — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: panoli — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: papanatas — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: pasmarote — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: pavitonto — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: primo — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: sosaina — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: soso — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: tonto — foolish or silly person
  • Spanish: alcornoque — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: dumbom — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: dumhuvud — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: flane — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: fjompa — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: idiot — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: nöt — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: pucko — foolish or silly person
  • Swedish: störding — foolish or silly person
  • Tagalog: bobo — foolish or silly person