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
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.
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
“Shrinking” still delivers warm, gooey vibes, much like newcomer “Rooster,” the Steve Carell comedy that shares the bland sad-com DNA of co-creator Bill Lawrence.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 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
I handed out napkins and my dad served pieces of gooey, crispy baklava.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
