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Added 9 October 2026

crackpot

/ˈkɹæk.pɒt/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about crackpot at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An eccentric, crazy or foolish person.
Time will tell whether he is a crackpot or a genius for promoting that sort of idea.
Someone addicted to crack cocaine (i.e. a drug addict).

adjective

Eccentric or impractical.
a crackpot idea

Origin

Mostly likely a back-etymology of pot, to form crack + pot. Originally, from crack + pate. Compare typologically Russian чо́кнутый (čóknutyj) (< чо́каться (čókatʹsja), onomatopoeic), see crack for the further typology.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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