foolproof

English

Etymology

From fool +‎ -proof.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfuːl ˌpɹuːf/

• Audio (Southern England):

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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.

Derived terms

• foolproofly
• foolproofness

Related terms

• bulletproof
• dummy-proof
• idiot-proof

Translations

(device) fail-safe

Bulgarian: безопасен (bg) (bezopasen) Chinese: Mandarin: 防呆 (fángdāi) Czech: blbuvzdorný (cs) Danish: idiotsikker German: narrensicher (de), idiotensicher (de) Norwegian: Bokmål: idiotsikker (no) Nynorsk: idiotsikker Polish: idiotoodporny (pl) (informal) Spanish: seguro (es), a prueba de tontos Swedish: idiotsäker (sv)

(plan) infallible

Arabic: مُحْكَمَة (ar) f (muḥkama) Catalan: infal·lible (ca) Dutch: onfeilbaar (nl), kogelbestendig (nl) French: infaillible (fr) Spanish: infalible (es)

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.