gremlin

[ grem-lin ]
See synonyms for gremlin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a mischievous invisible being, said by airplane pilots in World War II to cause engine trouble and mechanical difficulties.

  2. any cause of trouble, difficulties, etc., especially in a mechanical, electrical, computer, or other system: A loose wire was the gremlin that blew out the lights.

Origin of gremlin

1
First recorded in 1925–30; of obscure origin; in its earliest attested use, an RAF term for a low-ranking officer or enlisted man assigned the most onerous duties; later development perhaps affected by phonetic resemblance to goblin

synonym study For gremlin

1. See goblin.

Words Nearby gremlin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gremlin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gremlin

gremlin

/ (ˈɡrɛmlɪn) /


noun
  1. an imaginary imp jokingly said to be responsible for malfunctions in machinery

  2. any mischievous troublemaker

Origin of gremlin

1
C20: perhaps a corruption of goblin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012