FOOL


Meaning of FOOL in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ fu:l ]

( fools, fooling, fooled)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.

If you call someone a fool , you are indicating that you think they are not at all sensible and show a lack of good judgment.

‘You fool!’ she shouted...

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

= idiot

N-COUNT [ disapproval ]

2.

Fool is used to describe an action or person that is not at all sensible and shows a lack of good judgment. ( mainly AM INFORMAL )

What a damn fool thing to do!...

ADJ : ADJ n [ disapproval ]

3.

If someone fools you, they deceive or trick you.

Art dealers fool a lot of people...

Don’t be fooled by his appearance...

They tried to fool you into coming after us.

= trick, con

VERB : V n , V n , V n into -ing

4.

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.

What are you doing fooling with such a staggering sum of money?...

VERB : V with n

5.

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.

PHRASE : V and N inflect

6.

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 judgment.

He was drinking and making a fool of himself.

PHRASE : V and N inflect

7.

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 judgment. ( BRIT )

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

PHRASE [ disapproval ]

8.

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.

PHRASE : V inflects

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Английский словарь Коллинз COBUILD для изучающих язык на продвинутом уровне.