What does idol mean?
Word: Idol
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Idol means a person, such as a singer or a sports star, whom a great many people love and admire.
Synonyms: hero, star
Sounds like: idle (a different word said exactly the same way; let the sentence decide)
How do you spell idol?
Syllables: i - dol
Tricky part: The 'eye' sound at the start is written with just one letter, i. The word also has an exact sound-alike that is spelt differently, so the sound alone will not tell you which one to write.
Watch out for: aidol, eidol, idoll
Memory tip: The opening 'eye' sound needs only a single I, the same letter that begins ice and island.
Idol in a sentence
Example 1: Thousands of fans waited outside the stadium for a glimpse of their cricket idol.
Example 2: At the tournament in Oslo, the young chess player finally met his idol and could hardly speak.
Example 3: My grandfather's idol was the singer Elvis Presley.
Fun Fact
Idol goes back to the Greek word eidolon, meaning an image or a shape, so a person's idol is, in a way, a picture of what that person hopes to be.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Choose the option that fills both blanks correctly:
1. After saving three penalties in the final, the young goalkeeper became the ___ of every child in the town. 2. The new bus stood ___ in the depot because no driver had turned up.
a) idle/idol
b) idol/idle
c) 'idle' in both
d) 'idol' in both
Show answer
b) idol/idle. A hero the children look up to is an idol; a bus that is not being used is idle.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) signal
b) idal
c) medal
d) total
Show answer
b) idal. Medal, total and signal really do end in al; the word for a much-loved star does not.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with idol?
a) sidle
b) pedal
c) bridal
d) tidal
Show answer
b) pedal. Pedal starts with a short 'e', PED-ul; bridal, tidal and sidle all have the 'eye' sound followed by 'dl'.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its meaning:
1. idol 2. rival 3. novice a. someone who is just starting to learn a skill b. someone you compete against c. a famous person whose fans copy the way they dress and talk
a) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
Show answer
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a. Fans copy an idol, players face a rival, and a novice is a beginner.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A tennis star is Priya's idol. What is Priya most likely to do?
a) switch off the TV whenever the star plays
b) choose a different sport to follow
c) put up posters of the star in her room
d) throw away the star's autograph
Show answer
c) put up posters of the star in her room
2. When a singer is called a 'teen idol', it means that ___.
a) the singer has stopped performing
b) teenagers adore the singer
c) the singer sings only at schools
d) the singer has just ten songs
Show answer
b) teenagers adore the singer
