goat
1 Americannoun
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any of numerous agile, hollow-horned ruminants of the genus Capra, of the family Bovidae, closely related to the sheep, found native in rocky and mountainous regions of the Old World, and widely distributed in domesticated varieties.
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any of various related animals, as the Rocky Mountain goat.
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Astronomy, Astrology. Goat, the constellation or sign Capricorn.
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Also the goat a scapegoat or victim.
When the police came, he was left behind to be the goat.
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a licentious or lecherous man; lecher.
idioms
noun
noun
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any sure-footed agile bovid mammal of the genus Capra, naturally inhabiting rough stony ground in Europe, Asia, and N Africa, typically having a brown-grey colouring and a beard. Domesticated varieties ( C. hircus ) are reared for milk, meat, and wool
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short for Rocky Mountain goat
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informal a lecherous man
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a bad or inferior member of any group (esp in the phrase separate the sheep from the goats )
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short for scapegoat
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to fool around
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slang to cause annoyance to someone
noun
Other Word Forms
- goatlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of goat1
First recorded before 900; Middle English got, Old English gāt; cognate with Gothic gaits, Old Norse geit, German Geiss; akin to Latin haedus “young goat, kid”
Origin of GOAT2
First recorded in 1965–70; originally the name of a company founded by Muhammad Ali, who applied the term greatest of all time to himself
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.
In Thessaly, where around 45 percent of the briny white cheese is made from sheep and goat's milk, the impact of the disease is already significant.
From Barron's
Artisanal makers of goat cheeses can be found along undulating roads through greenery that dead end at the foreboding promontory of Cabo Espichel.
Most of the bottles are Villa Maria, which costs £10.75 in the nearest supermarket and is said to pair well with seafood and tangy goat's cheese.
From BBC
Dubbed Project Ibex, after the long-horned mountain goat, the vehicles are an experiment by the tech company to potentially augment the fleet of box trucks and vans.
But some parents have said the scheme needs updating as only products from cows, goats and sheep are eligible and each school decides whether to offer alternatives.
From BBC
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.