Dictionary.com

gloat

[ gloht ]
/ gloʊt /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: gloat / gloating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
to look at or think about with great or excessive, often smug or malicious, satisfaction: The opposing team gloated over our bad luck.
noun
an act or feeling of gloating.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of gloat

1565–75; perhaps akin to Old Norse glotta “to smile scornfully”; compare German glotzen “to stare”

synonym study for gloat

1. See glare1.

OTHER WORDS FROM gloat

gloat·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gloat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gloat

gloat
/ (ɡləʊt) /

verb
(intr often foll by over) to dwell (on) with malevolent smugness or exultation
noun
the act of gloating

Derived forms of gloat

gloater, noungloatingly, adverb

Word Origin for gloat

C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse glotta to grin, Middle High German glotzen to stare
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK