goober
Americannoun
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.
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.
Welsh Fire's Jonny Bairstow gives Jamie Smith a reprieve after dropping a "goober" of a catch to leave the London Spirit batsman at the crease in the Men's Hundred at Sophia Gardens.
From BBC • Aug. 9, 2025
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
He’s still not quite smart enough for the situations he finds himself in, and no matter how smooth he tries to be, he’s still a bit of a goober.
From Slate • Jul. 15, 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
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.
