gaffe
Americannoun
-
gaffes
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gaffe
1905–10; < French: blunder, probably special use of gaffe gaff 1
Explanation
A gaffe is a mistake that embarrasses you in front of others. If you run into a friend out with her grey-haired father, and you blurt out, "Oh, hi, you must be Tara's grandfather!" then you've made a gaffe. Gaffe rhymes with laugh, and you'll be lucky if that's how people respond to your social blunder. A gaffe seems to occur most often when you literally don't know your audience — you make a joke about the mayor; you didn't know you were talking to his sister. That's definitely a gaffe. And who knew your hosts come from a culture that takes offense if you refuse to try every dish?
Vocabulary lists containing gaffe
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Awkward Moments
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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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.
See Examples For:
A fly ball conked Angels right fielder Jo Adell on the head and bounced over the fence for a home run, reminding fans of José Canseco’s similar gaffe 33 years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
By 'Tom Ford and Smith', the club were referring to a gaffe made by Atleti president Enrique Cerezo earlier in the year when he named both as players for his side.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
After the gaffe, Ackman mothballed the IPO entirely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
The “Cold Mountain” gaffe was a rare instance of a “Good Hang” research flub, one that inadvertently managed to illuminate more of Paltrow’s self-perception.
From Salon ● Jan. 16, 2026
My gaffe was even worse in Karhidish, but Estraven did not smile, or wince.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Eventually, one too many social gaffes have stacked up into a rickety pile, and Joe can’t help but play the Big Bad Wolf.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
In Dokoupil’s first months on the job, the show’s gaffes have been memorialized in news reports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
But Jospin tripped up in his 2002 presidential rematch against Chirac, making a number of gaffes, including a swipe at his opponent's age that was seen as below the belt.
From Barron's ● Mar. 23, 2026
The backups provided some cringeworthy moments in a 30-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers — coach Jim Harbaugh’s old team — making some troubling gaffes in a sloppy second half in Santa Clara.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2025
Henry hoped there would be now more gaffes, especially since The Pope had gotten after them.
From Wild Justice by Ruth M. Sprague
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.
