gooey
Americanadjective
-
gooier,
comparative
-
gooiest
superlative
-
like or covered with goo; sticky; viscid.
-
Informal. extremely sentimental or emotionally effusive.
adjective
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sticky, soft, and often sweet
-
oversweet and sentimental
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
Or maybe you’ve experienced the unique frustration of peeling off a price tag and ending up with a stubborn gooey patch?
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
The latest trade statistics show Japan's exports of the highly nutritious gooey beans tripled from 2017 to 5,248 tonnes in 2025, with China and the United States topping the list of destinations.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
For maximum duck-on-duck goodness, add crispy duck bacon and a gooey duck egg.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
It was gooey, soft and slathered in a classic tangy cream cheese frosting.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
But Hess’s readings showed that the ocean floor offered anything but the gooey smoothness of ancient silts.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Other changes to McDonald’s burgers included softer buns and gooier cheese, the company said.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 20, 2023
The more cheese you add, the denser and gooier your mac and cheese will be.
From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2021
The musical ends on a gooier note, as the couple takes in a glistening sunrise.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 18, 2017
Taking seats on a table under a linden tree, we ordered crepes, made with nutty buckwheat flour, as well as the slightly gooier local equivalent, called palacinky, cooked from plain wheat flour.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2011
Oil turned the bone-black upon him into a thick, sticky goo which instantly gathered more bone-black to become thicker, stickier, and gooier.
From The Ambulance Made Two Trips by Murray Leinster
Each day, I walk to Belize Chocolate Company and get the gooiest brownie I’ve ever eaten.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 3, 2016
It is pine tar, the gooiest, stickiest, filthiest stuff you ever touched.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2014
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.
