goombah
Americannoun
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a companion or associate, especially an older person who mentors or advises; a godfather.
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a member of a criminal organization.
Usage
What does goombah mean? Among Italian-Americans, a goombah is a slang term for a “close friend.” When directed at Italian-Americans, a goombah can be an ethnic slur or a gangster stereotype. A goombah also refers to a mushroom-shaped enemy in the Super Mario franchise.
Etymology
Origin of goombah
First recorded in 1965–70; perhaps from Neapolitan dialect cumbà, cumpà, gumbà “friend,” the form used in direct address of the noun cumbàr, cumpàr, gumbàr “respected older man,” formerly “godfather,” from Italian compàre “godfather, friend, accomplice,” from Medieval Latin compater “godfather”
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.
“I do think if one of these billionaires ruins a franchise, you might have goombah football fans reading Karl Marx,” he said.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
You'll note that he's not feeling fond toward Cohen, his former goombah, whom Trump clearly sees as having stabbed him the back.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2018
Even the highly successful "True Blood," with its steadily ascending viewership across four seasons and sturdy DVD sales, has somehow been regarded as kid stuff alongside the epochal, 330-pound goombah that was "The Sopranos."
From Reuters ● Sep. 22, 2010
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.
