goner
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of goner
Explanation
A goner is someone or something that can't be saved — it's lost, or doomed. When you know your video game character is about to die, it's clear she's a goner. The informal goner is great for describing a person who's desperate or ill-fated. If you narrowly avoid a bad car accident, you might say, "I thought I was a goner," and if your cat catches a small bird, you can be fairly certain it's a goner. Goner is a colloquial American word that stems from the earlier terms "gone goose" and "gone coon," which have the same meaning.
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.
That means if it’s separated from the ants it parasitizes, it’s a goner.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
And they have concluded the number, but not the policy itself, is an albatross around their neck - and so it is a goner.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2024
The moment Benedick declares he’ll never get married, we know he’s a goner.
From Washington Post • Mar. 28, 2023
They keep chatting, she asks his age — he’s 34 — and by the time that he drops her off, Lea is a goner and the story is on its way.
From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023
With a guy like Ackley, if you looked up from your book you were a goner.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
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.
