noun
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a stupid or deliberately foolish person
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informal a thug hired to commit acts of violence or intimidation, esp in an industrial dispute
noun
Usage
What does goon mean? Don't be a goon! That is, don't be a "fool" or an "oaf."Hired muscle, gangsters, and tough-guy hockey players are often called goons, too.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of goon
First recorded in 1920–25; shortened from dialectal gooney, variant of obsolete gony “a simpleton” (of unknown origin); influenced by the comic-strip character Alice the Goon in the series Thimble Theatre by E. C. Segar (1894–1938), American cartoonist
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:
Talking to AFP, he initially insisted: "I'm a goon, and I'm proud to say that."
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Hence “Jackass: Best and Last,” the goon squad’s alleged final film, is underwhelmingly tame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Private sector workers won the right to form unions and strike under the National Labor Relations Board, largely ending the union-busting and goon violence of decades past.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2025
Even if the goon gets caught, you still have to go store by store to argue that the fraudulent purchase wasn’t legitimate and hope the debt is forgiven.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2025
He started to lean down, but Hazel yelped, “No, please!” as if she was genuinely concerned for the big goon.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri told AFP that claims the force works alongside goons are "preposterous", suggesting the above incidents involved rogue officers who were now under investigation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
But Kornev is young and infused with an idealistic zeal, refusing to let these goons stonewall him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
They are notorious goons, despised virtually everywhere for their ability to agitate, aggrieve and annoy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
The "Gen Z" movement alleges, however, that paid goons had looted various buildings in order to undermine their cause.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025
I wondered if it were my imagination, or if Sloan had more goons hanging around him than usual.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
