Part of Speech
noun
Definition
an insignificant or trivial fact
Origin + Etymology
coined by American writer Norman Mailer in his 1973 biography of Marilyn Monroe. Mailer described factoids as "facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper"; created by combining the word fact and the ending -oid to mean "similar but not the same"
Synonyms
- tidbit
Example
Here's a little factoid for you: the three-toed sloth is the slowest mammal in the world.
Usage Over Time
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