galoot
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of galoot
First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain
Explanation
A galoot is a clumsy, foolish, or silly person. If your brother stumbles and drops an entire pizza on the kitchen floor, you'll be tempted to call him a galoot. Galoot is an informal word for a fool or a goofy guy. Many TV and film comedies feature a character who's a galoot, someone to laugh at for his stupidity or clumsiness. This word is used in both the US and Scotland, and its origin is uncertain, although it most likely began as nautical slang for "green" or new sailors, especially if they were marines or soldiers.
Vocabulary lists containing galoot
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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A Long Way from Chicago
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American Gods
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Galoot A rube A yokel—a heavy country fellow.
From Some Everyday Folk and Dawn by Franklin, Miles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
