gooney
Americanadjective
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Slang. stupid, foolish, or awkward.
a gooney smile on his face.
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Informal. thuggish; brutal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gooney
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:
She favors expressions like “Oh my gooney goo hoo!” and “Okie pokie dokie shmokie!”
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2013
Overfriendly gooney birds create a hazard by flocking to greet incoming aircraft.
From Time Magazine Archive
The friendly gooney birds lay their big eggs on or near the runways, rise in clouds as if to welcome planes on landing or to see them off on takeoffs.
From Time Magazine Archive
And the rules, as one U.S. official puts it, are as elaborately wacky as "the dance of the gooney birds on Wake Island."
From Time Magazine Archive
On his way back to camp he discovered a few handfuls of sea salt in a crevice between some rocks, and the syndicate breakfasted an hour later on roast gooney.
From Captain Scraggs or, The Green-Pea Pirates by Grant, Gordon
The Navy has tried to shoo the gooneys away.
From Time Magazine Archive
When the gooneys stoically ignored it all, the Navy people called upon the scientists.
From Time Magazine Archive
Unerringly, the gooneys, thoughtfully marked with a shocking-pink head dye for identincation, flew back to Midway.
From Time Magazine Archive
First of all, it will take the Navy at least five years to purge the birds: young gooneys leave Midway shortly after birth to wander, return only at the age of five.
From Time Magazine Archive
The boy, first to find his voice, muttered: "Of all the gooneys that ever got away from the backwoods, we take the bun!"
From The Mission of Janice Day by Turner, Corinne
When the goonies discover their hiding place, the Fratellis plot to snuff out this loose end, causing them to literally dig deeper into the house with the criminals hot on their trail.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
Cue that priceless look on every adult’s face when the goonies are reunited with their families as the entire pirate ship resurfaces to float joyously in the distance.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
Despite no adult or authority figure believing in their mission, the goonies triumph.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
In 1922, some 9,000 goonies were counted; in 1946 there were 214,000.
From Time Magazine Archive
“That bunch are as crazy as the goonies behind us. Pringles is what I call them.”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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.
