gooey
Americanadjective
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like or covered with goo; sticky; viscid.
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Informal. extremely sentimental or emotionally effusive.
adjective
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sticky, soft, and often sweet
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oversweet and sentimental
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gooey
Explanation
Gooey things are drippy and soft, as well as sticky. Your very favorite dessert might be a huge, melty, gooey hot fudge sundae. Few things are more annoying than stepping on something gooey on the sidewalk, or getting a gooey piece of gum stuck in your hair. Gooey candy, likewise, might taste delicious but get stuck in your teeth. The informal gooey is the perfect way to describe these gummy, tacky substances, and it comes from American-coined slang, from goo, probably a shortened form of the now-obsolete burgoo, meaning "thick porridge."
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.
It was gooey, soft and slathered in a classic tangy cream cheese frosting.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
Cronin’s previous outing was “Evil Dead Rise,” a sequel heavily devoted to the gooey game plan mapped out by Fede Alvarez’s 2013 rethink of Sam Raimi’s gross-out comedies.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
The author also tackles tartiflette, a gooey mixture of Reblochon cheese, potatoes, onions and lardons from the Savoie region that’s the food of protests in the 10th, loved by demonstrators and police alike.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Well, it's happened - and the gooey elasticity is key, according to a viral TikTok challenge promoting the serum.
From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026
The saucepan was full of thick gooey purplish treacle, boiling and bubbling.
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
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.
