gibberish
Americannoun
-
meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing.
- Synonyms:
- gobbledegook, drivel, gabble, babble, foolishness, nonsense
-
talk or writing containing many obscure, pretentious, or technical words.
noun
-
rapid chatter like that of monkeys
-
incomprehensible talk; nonsense
Etymology
Origin of gibberish
1545–55; apparently gibber + -ish 1, on the model of language names so formed
Explanation
Gibberish is nonsense sounds or writing. A baby's babble is often called gibberish. When someone is speaking a foreign language you don't understand, what they're saying may sound like gibberish to you. To gibber or jabber is to talk rapidly and excitedly without making any sense. Gibberish, ending in -ish like Spanish or English — is the "language" of people who gibber and jabber. The word also applies to writing — if you have really bad handwriting, your teacher might say you write in gibberish. And if your teacher can somehow read your handwriting but your essay is poorly organized, the content of your writing can be called gibberish as well.
Vocabulary lists containing gibberish
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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The Poet X
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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.
Gibberish ransom demands spat out of printers and displayed on some computer screens.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 25, 2021
Gibberish about a backsliding representative Republic aside, that’s what governors do; they make decisions.
From Washington Times • Apr. 21, 2021
Web sites like CheesyCoporateLingo.com and TheOfficeLife.com offer alphabetized lists of vacuous phrases, while snarky software programs like Corporate Gibberish Generator, Business Buzzword Generator and MBA Writer automatically generate entire jargon-riddled memos.
From Forbes • Feb. 5, 2013
Gibberish is the hallmark of the conditional apology.
From Time Magazine Archive
Gibberish to anyone else, but Emily knew what to do.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
