as in moron
a stupid person
was considered something of a dim bulb at work
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Recent Examples of dim bulb
That’s because well more than half of the universe’s stars are tiny, cool red dwarfs, dim bulbs with half to less than 10 percent of the sun’s mass.
—
Phil Plait, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2026
Not only are Hochul's numbers in bad shape throughout the state, the congresswoman is vastly smarter and quicker than the dim bulb governor.
—Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Perrotta’s dark and wry comedy is about a suburban New Jersey high school election, between the ambitious and qualified but wholly unlikeable Tracy Flick, popular dim bulb Paul, and Paul’s sister, Tammy, who runs as revenge against Paul for stealing her girlfriend.
—Brian Boone, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Georgie, a big-hearted dim bulb, is working for Jim, who owns a tire store or something.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2024
While there are dim bulbs in both parties, a special lighting area should be designed for Alabama Senator and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 25 Sep. 2023
Hamm's cop is on the case that involves moldy fast food, a deaf hitman and a bunch of dim bulbs not good at crimes.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 15 June 2023
The lack of clarity produced by a dim bulb.
—Pat Myers, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2022
Davy Jones, a British vocalist, was the cute scamp; Micky Dolenz, the drummer and primary lead singer, was the wild jokester; and Peter Tork, the bass player, was the lovable dim bulb.
—New York Times, 10 Dec. 2021
Phil Plait, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2026
Not only are Hochul's numbers in bad shape throughout the state, the congresswoman is vastly smarter and quicker than the dim bulb governor.
—Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Perrotta’s dark and wry comedy is about a suburban New Jersey high school election, between the ambitious and qualified but wholly unlikeable Tracy Flick, popular dim bulb Paul, and Paul’s sister, Tammy, who runs as revenge against Paul for stealing her girlfriend.
—Brian Boone, Vulture, 18 June 2025
Georgie, a big-hearted dim bulb, is working for Jim, who owns a tire store or something.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2024
While there are dim bulbs in both parties, a special lighting area should be designed for Alabama Senator and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 25 Sep. 2023
Hamm's cop is on the case that involves moldy fast food, a deaf hitman and a bunch of dim bulbs not good at crimes.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 15 June 2023
The lack of clarity produced by a dim bulb.
—Pat Myers, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2022
Davy Jones, a British vocalist, was the cute scamp; Micky Dolenz, the drummer and primary lead singer, was the wild jokester; and Peter Tork, the bass player, was the lovable dim bulb.
—New York Times, 10 Dec. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dim bulb
Noun
-
Lluís then calls Puig Antich a moron.—
Colm Tóibín,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2026
-
This drunk moron — quite different from his character in the novel — bears a ton of blame.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The scale of the headloss was best summed up by Luis Suarez attempting to reason with Messi, before the Argentine did anything on the Suarez scale of stupid.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
-
But the new parking fees at Balboa Park are a whole new level of stupid.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And Queen Elizabeth was no dummy.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
24 Mar. 2026
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Most hospital training labs use basic dummies or simple mannequins to teach medical skills.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dim bulb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dim%20bulb. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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