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.

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)
• 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 foolproof.

   We foolproofed the operations.