oof

American  

[oof] / uf /

Sometimes ooof

interjection

1. (an exclamation used to sympathize with someone else’s pain or dismay, or to express one’s own): Oof, I've got tons of schoolwork to do this week.

   Oof, that conversation must’ve been so awkward and hurtful!

   Oof, I've got tons of schoolwork to do this week.

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oof British  

/ uːf /

noun

1. slang money

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Other Word Forms

• oofy adjective

Etymology

Origin of oof

First recorded in 1770–80; imitative

Example Sentences

He moves, he says, “with an oof in each step.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

The mind is the lens through which we perceive all reality and if there's a real impact on that perception based on quantifiable emotional energy then — oof — color us shook.

From Salon • Dec. 29, 2023

He was making jokes like: Woah, tonight “Dérive 2,” oof, buckle up, roll up your sleeves.

From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2023

More than that: The defense absolutely suffocated Seattle — oof, are there problems for the Seahawks, both in the short and long term — forcing eight punts.

From Washington Post • Nov. 29, 2021

I hear thumps and clumps and an oof from Matthew and I look up and he’s buried in silage rolls, his arm out to one side, the machete dropped.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness