crackpot

noun

crack·​pot ˈkrak-ˌpät 

plural crackpots

: one given to eccentric or wildly foolish notions

crackpot adjective

Synonyms of crackpot

• eccentric
• character
• wacko
• kook
• loony
• nutcase
• weirdo
• nut
• nutter
• crank
• fruitcake
• screwball
• original

Examples of crackpot in a Sentence

Some crackpot in a clown suit is out there directing traffic.

everyone is tolerant of the town crackpot, a man who never hurt anyone

Recent Examples on the Web

The crackpots are the mainstream. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025

Artists have always used music to question authority and expose the cracks (and the crackpots) in the American story. — Time, 6 May 2026

So like Janet Mills, crackpot fellow traveler Jared Golden was getting muscled… from the left. — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

The hyperactive news cycle demands everyone create some kind of schema for figuring out what’s going on, and our era is typified with crackpot right-wing conspiracies that fill that void. — Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for crackpot

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot
• distraught

Kids Definition

crackpot

noun

crack·​pot ˈkrak-ˌpät 

: a very eccentric or strange person

crackpot adjective