goat

[ goht ]

See synonyms for goat on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.
any of various related animals, as the Rocky Mountain goat.

Goat, Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign Capricorn.
Also the goat . a scapegoat or victim: When the police came, he was left behind to be the goat.
a licentious or lecherous man; lecher.

Idioms about goat

get someone's goat, Informal. to anger, annoy, or frustrate a person: His arrogance gets my goat.

Origin of goat

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”

Other words from goat

goat·like, adjective

Other definitions for GOAT (2 of 2)

GOAT

or G.O.A.T.

[ goht, jee-oh-ey-tee ]

nounInformal.

greatest of all time: (used to describe or refer to a person or thing that is considered to be the best ever in a particular field, category, etc., especially in sports): If he hadn’t been injured, he would have been the GOAT, but he’s still a top 5 player.That film is indisputably GOAT—I watch it at least once a year.

Origin of GOAT

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

Also the GOAT .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use goat in a sentence

Of course that “interesting company,” alongside the grazing goats, will probably number the odd royal and Hollywood celebrity.
William, Kate, and Jay Z’s Favorite Art Star: Alexander Gilkes' World of Rock Stars and Royalty | Tim Teeman | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Have you heard the joke by Iraqi Kurds about ISIS fighters milking male goats?
Middle East Goes Monty Python on ISIS | Dean Obeidallah | October 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Read a cautionary tale about the seductive and dangerous power of a charlatan sociopath, featuring goats and the American Dream.
The Strange, True Tale of the Old-Timey Goat Testicle-Implanting 'Governor' | Penny Lane | September 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
That creature threatened the goats until the biggest one butted him off the bridge, never to trouble pedestrians again.
Dems Troll Christie on Bridgegate | Olivia Nuzzi | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Apparently, goats in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, can ride humans piggyback.
Chubby Korean Baby Dance, Goat Riding Guy Riding Bike, and More Viral Videos | The Daily Beast Video | June 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Once he suddenly found himself in the road driving a small flock of goats, whose he knew not, nor whence he got them.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
Stray goats and mules gazed expectantly up and down the track.
A Lost Hero | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. Ward
They have all their effects packed upon cars, and drive their goats and cows before them.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
The shepherd turns away, he says, the goats on the left, and embraces with his right hand the well-deserving lambs.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry Withrow
They mostly raise a few sheep and goats; the sheep are a poor lot, the wool is of a very inferior class, and the mutton poor.
Campaign Pictures of the War in South Africa (1899-1900) | A. G. Hales

British Dictionary definitions for goat (1 of 3)

goat

/ (ɡəʊt) /

noun

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: Related adjectives: caprine, hircine
short for Rocky Mountain goat

informal a lecherous man
a bad or inferior member of any group (esp in the phrase separate the sheep from the goats)
short for scapegoat
act the goat, act the giddy goat, play the goat or play the giddy goat to fool around
get someone's goat slang to cause annoyance to someone

Origin of goat

Old English gāt; related to Old Norse geit, Old High German geiz, Latin haedus kid

Derived forms of goat

goatlike, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for go at (2 of 3)

go at

verb(intr, preposition)

to make an energetic attempt at (something)
to attack vehemently

British Dictionary definitions for Goat (3 of 3)

Goat

/ (ɡəʊt) /

noun

the Goat the constellation Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with goat

goat

see get someone's goat; separate the sheep from the goats.

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