goober
Americannoun
-
goobers
plural
noun
Usage
What does goober mean? Goober is an informal name for a peanut. The peanut is sometimes also called the goober pea. Goober is also used as a slang term for an unsophisticated, goofy person, especially one from a rural area, somewhat similar to the term bumpkin. Goober is primarily used in the Southern and Midland United States. Example: I can’t wait to get some boiled goobers at a roadside stand when I go back home to Georgia.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of goober
First recorded in 1825–35; of Bantu origin; compare Kongo, Kimbundu nguba “peanut”
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.
See Examples For:
Stokes was the beneficiary of perhaps the worst drop of the lot, a complete goober by opposite number Tom Latham at short cover when the England skipper had 30.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024
It comes off as goober posturing, not worthy of the sixth-most populous county in the nation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2024
This time, the giant goober is made of sheet metal, not fiberglass.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 24, 2023
Our textbooks told of the Louisiana Purchase; the Johnstown, Pa., flood; the great San Francisco earthquake; and George Washington Carver’s development of hundreds of products from the common goober.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2021
But no one ever had more fun with a skinny bat and a tennis ball covered in dog goober.
From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers
Out-of-town goobers and locals alike hike up to various vantage points around it for a selfie or group shot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
A serpent-tongued viper might call these true believers goobers, rubes, suckers, and dupes, but what good would it do?
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2024
In it, journalist Chris Heath recasts the accused conspirators as a bunch of goobers who didn't mean any real harm.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2022
An exasperated local school teacher explained the dilemma while visiting the postmaster in nearby Weaverville, who was snacking on a sack of goobers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2020
We didn’t know what to say to this, so we all just kind of smiled like goobers.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
