goggle

American  

[gog-uhl] / ˈgɒg əl /

noun

1. goggles,

   1. large spectacles equipped with special lenses, protective rims, etc., to prevent injury to the eyes from strong wind, flying objects, blinding light, etc.

   2. spectacles designed for a special purpose, as night-vision or stereoscopic goggles.

   3. Informal. glasses, or eyeglasses.

      I can't see a thing without my goggles.

2. a bulging or wide-open look of the eyes; stare.

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verb (used without object)

• goggles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• goggled,
  past participle,  past
• goggling
  present participle

1. to stare with bulging or wide-open eyes.

   Synonyms:

   glare, gawp, gawk, ogle, gape

2. (of the eyes) to bulge and be wide open in a stare.

3. to roll the eyes.

4. (of the eyes) to roll.

5. Informal. spearfish.

verb (used with object)

• goggles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• goggled,
  past participle,  past
• goggling
  present participle

1. to roll (the eyes).

adjective

1. (of the eyes) rolling, bulging, or staring.

goggle British  

/ ˈɡɒɡəl /

verb

1. (intr) to stare stupidly or fixedly, as in astonishment

2. to cause (the eyes) to roll or bulge or (of the eyes) to roll or bulge

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noun

1. a fixed or bulging stare

2. (plural) spectacles, often of coloured glass or covered with gauze: used to protect the eyes

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• goggly
  adjective
• ungoggled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• goggling
  present
• goggled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• goggle
  simple
• goggles
  simple
• have goggled
  perfect
• has goggled
  perfect
• am goggling
  progressive
• are goggling
  progressive
• is goggling
  progressive
• have been goggling
  perfect progressive
• has been goggling
  perfect progressive

Past

• goggled
  simple
• had goggled
  perfect
• was goggling
  progressive
• were goggling
  progressive
• had been goggling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will goggle
  simple
• will have goggled
  perfect
• will be goggling
  progressive
• will have been goggling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of goggle

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gogelen “to look aside, squint”

Explanation

When you goggle, you stare with wide-open bug eyes. You might goggle at a monkey riding a unicycle down the main street of your town. You may have heard of goggles — those large, plastic glasses that you use to protect your eyes while you are skiing or using a blowtorch. You might look like you are wearing goggles when you goggle at something. If you are looking for a new way to say "What are you looking at?!" Try: "What are you goggling at?!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

goggle goggles goggled goggling

In the film, Derpy is the fluorescent tiger with goggle eyes that always appears with its sidekick, a three-eyed bird named Sussy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2025

Army soldiers have completed intensive testing of Microsoft’s new multifunction goggle — and the results may determine whether Congress rejects most of the $424.2 million proposed in next year’s defense budget to keep buying them.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2022

It has SteelSeries’ signature ski goggle headband that suspends its weight without pressing down.

From The Verge ● Nov. 16, 2021

Since 2003 the United States has provided Afghan forces with at least 600,000 infantry weapons including M16 assault rifles, 162,000 pieces of communication equipment, and 16,000 night-vision goggle devices.

From Reuters ● Aug. 19, 2021

“You’ve already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn’t something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?”

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

In 2015, he was hired to serve as president of New York-based L3 Technologies, a medium-size contractor with offerings like telecommunications gear and night-vision goggles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

All you need is a swimsuit, cap and goggles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Bobbing around the shore in goggles and a wetsuit, an energetic Wu shares from her decades of experience practising the tradition she had learned from her father as a teenager.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

McGinn and his goggles have gone worldwide in recent days, with his name ringing out on the streets of Boston and on the Fenway Park bleachers.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

Miss Love was planning a window display of linen dusters, dust veils, and driving caps with goggles.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Tourists and Parisians goggled at the sight of the French capital's oldest bridge transformed into a giant "cave" on Thursday, a spectacular new public work by the street artist JR.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

There was a whole wall of car parts lit up in pink that I goggled at for a minute.

From The Verge ● Apr. 14, 2022

Rural English girls goggled at black American soldiers, then adored their courtesy and their dance steps.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 1, 2019

On the next day’s return ride we goggled at pirouetting model planes over the Victoria Radio Control Modelers Society’s home field, Michell Airpark, off the Lochside trail north of Martindale Road.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2019

He peeked out through the letter box and, oh happy coincidence, there was a pair of goggled eyes peeking right back at him.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Twitter lent itself to appreciating great TV and to goggling at trash; it was equally a vehicle for “Isn’t this amazing?” and “What the hell are we watching?”

From New York Times ● Jul. 10, 2023

Keep your glances momentary, and don’t stop and stare; people can’t intuit your intentions if you’re standing in their driveway goggling at them.

From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2021

Bevin “was visibly a bruiser with a bull neck and loud voice. He was squat at 240 pounds with putty-lump features and a goggling stare that gave him an aura of menace.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2018

The show follows Dahl in giving television a good kicking, and trumpets the superiority of reading over goggling.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 1, 2013

The goggling eyes of the Madman, the sad face of the Scarab Queen wrought in black and gold.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo