gofer

or go-fer, go·pher

[goh-fer]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gofer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Slang.

an employee whose chief duty is running errands.

Origin of gofer

1965–70; respelling of go for (verb phrase), with -er representing both vowel reduction in for and -er¹

Can be confusedgofer gopher

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gofer

peon, grunt, scrub

Examples from the Web for gofer

Contemporary Examples of gofer

I was the gofer guy who made $285 a week cleaning toilets.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’
The Center for Investigative Reporting
November 3, 2014
"Henry Hill was a just a gofer," remembers veteran crime reporter Pileggi.
Goodfellas Turns 20
Sean Macaulay
September 21, 2010
Dougherty got his start in the news business as a gofer on The Washington Post sports desk in the 1970s.
McCain's New Nemesis
Samuel P. Jacobs
May 12, 2010

Historical Examples of gofer

A relic of old times is found in the custom at Newark known as “Ringing for Gofer.”
The Great North Road: London to York
Charles G. Harper

British Dictionary definitions for gofer

gofer

noun

slang, mainly US and Canadian an employee or assistant whose duties include menial tasks such as running errands

Word Origin for gofer

C20: originally US: alteration of go for

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

Word Origin and History for gofer

"errand-runner," 1956, American English coinage from go for (coffee, spare parts, etc.), with a pun on gopher.