noun
Synonym Usage
See boorish ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of oaf
1615–25; variant of auf, Middle English alfe, Old English ælf elf; cognate with German Alp nightmare
Explanation
An oaf is the boring, ill-mannered person you hope doesn't show up at your party and send the other guests running for the door. There are many ways to be an oaf: you can be loud, insensitive, rude, or just plain stupid. The word is related to the Old English word for "elf," and originally meant a changeling — an elf's child, a little darling not known for good manners — and you probably wouldn't want one of them at your party either.
Vocabulary lists containing oaf
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
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Whoops! Synonyms for "Clumsy"
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
A person who is not delighted by Wuvable Oaf is probably not a person.
From Slate • Dec. 2, 2015
Wuvable Oaf is almost certainly the hairiest comic I’ve ever read, and I’m delighted to have Ed Luce illustrating the August issue of the Slate Book Review.
From Slate • Aug. 5, 2015
Sure, Oaf Jadwiga may be enormous, muscled, extravagantly bearded—indeed, so hirsute that when he shaves his chest, the hair springs back out mere moments later.
From Slate • Aug. 5, 2015
Between 1973 and 1975 several of Oaf Tobar and Berkeley Blue’s customers were caught red-handed with their blue boxes.
From Salon • Feb. 16, 2013
They were laughing about something when Jon came down the steps with Iron Emmett and Dolorous Edd, and behind them Mully, Horse, Red Jack Crabb, Rusty Flowers, and Owen the Oaf.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
