Tudor & Stuart · insult · noun
Blockhead
BLOK-hed /ˈblɒkˌhɛd/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1532
A stupid person, someone with no more brains than a wooden block (the head-shaped block used by hat- and wig-makers). At first it could also mean the wooden head itself.
Where it was first recorded
Dated 1532 by Merriam-Webster and Wiktionary, which do not name the work; other dictionaries give later dates (Etymonline the 1540s, the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary 1549, Dictionary.com 1540–50)
Also spelled: block-head, block head
In its own time
Nay, your wit will not so soon out as another man's will;'tis strongly wedged up in a block-head
Today
Modern exampleOnly a blockhead would reply-all to the entire company with his lunch order.
Fine to use; a mild, almost friendly insult still widely understood.
Questions
What does blockhead mean?
A stupid person, someone with no more brains than a wooden block (the head-shaped block used by hat- and wig-makers). At first it could also mean the wooden head itself.
When was blockhead first used?
It is first recorded 1532 — Dated 1532 by Merriam-Webster and Wiktionary, which do not name the work; other dictionaries give later dates (Etymonline the 1540s, the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary 1549, Dictionary.com 1540–50).
Can you still use blockhead today?
Fine to use; a mild, almost friendly insult still widely understood.
Sources
- Blockhead — Murray's New English Dictionary (OED1), via WEHD
- blockhead — Online Etymology Dictionary
- blockhead — Merriam-Webster
- blockhead — Dictionary.com (Random House Unabridged)
- Coriolanus — The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (MIT)
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above