noun
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a stupid or deliberately foolish person
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informal a thug hired to commit acts of violence or intimidation, esp in an industrial dispute
noun
Usage
What does goon mean? Don't be a goon! That is, don't be a "fool" or an "oaf."Hired muscle, gangsters, and tough-guy hockey players are often called goons, too.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of goon
First recorded in 1920–25; shortened from dialectal gooney, variant of obsolete gony “a simpleton” (of unknown origin); influenced by the comic-strip character Alice the Goon in the series Thimble Theatre by E. C. Segar (1894–1938), American cartoonist
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.
See Examples For:
"You end up being a goon to at least earn something," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Private sector workers won the right to form unions and strike under the National Labor Relations Board, largely ending the union-busting and goon violence of decades past.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2025
Even if the goon gets caught, you still have to go store by store to argue that the fraudulent purchase wasn’t legitimate and hope the debt is forgiven.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2025
The big “IF” — as in “imaginary friend” — in John Krasinski’s treacly kids dramedy is a grizzly-sized purple goon who goes by the name Blue.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2024
Even a total goon like me knows you can't stop Killer Kane, but I go ahead and try anyhow.
From "Freak The Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick
Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri told AFP that claims the force works alongside goons are "preposterous", suggesting the above incidents involved rogue officers who were now under investigation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Plus, we check in on the premier Democratic primary of the year and goons showing up at the Federal Reserve construction site.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
Standing in the way are Mr. Cabello’s die-hard goons, who are not the surrendering type.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 4, 2026
It also highlighted the role of opportunists who infiltrated the protests – described as "goons" – who "undermined the principles of peaceful assembly".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2025
It had been the backdrop for a thousand imagined battles—between demons and wizards, fairies and goons, trolls and giants.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
