foolproof

foolproof

English

Etymology

    From fool + -proof.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈfuːl ˌpɹuːf/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)

    Adjective

    foolproof (comparative more foolproof, superlative most foolproof)

    1. Of a device: protected against, or designed to be proof against, misuse or error.
    2. Of an idea or plan: certain to succeed in all eventualities, or claimed to be so; infallible.
      • 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, chapter 15, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
        Dill had hit upon a foolproof plan to make Boo Radley come out at no cost to ourselves (place a trail of lemon drops from the back door to the front yard and he’d follow it, like an ant).
      • 2021 June 1, Marie-Dominique, “‘Throw the ingredients together with reckless abandon!’: Guardian readers on their tastiest foolproof bakes”, in The Guardian[1], archived from the original on 3 July 2021:
        My foolproof recipe is my gâteau fermière.
      • 2022 January 24, Allan Jenkins, Molly Tait-Hyland, “The 20 best easy dinner recipes – every one simple and delicious”, in The Guardian[2], archived from the original on 9 March 2022:
        From Nigella Lawson’s effortless spaghetti with Marmite to Chetna Makan’s foolproof chicken curry – the recipes to turn to when you want easy but tasty suppers

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Verb

    foolproof (third-person singular simple present foolproofs, present participle foolproofing, simple past and past participle foolproofed)

    1. (transitive) To render (something) foolproof.
      We foolproofed the operations.

    Further reading

    • foolproof”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.