gremlin
Americannoun
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a mischievous invisible being, said by airplane pilots in World War II to cause engine trouble and mechanical difficulties.
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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.
noun
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an imaginary imp jokingly said to be responsible for malfunctions in machinery
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any mischievous troublemaker
Related Words
See goblin.
Etymology
Origin of gremlin
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
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 turned into a little party gremlin sheltering in place, you know?
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025
I scoop it up with Breton crackers, usually while standing at the fridge like a little gremlin.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2025
The title characters have classic toon precedent — remember the maladroit elves in Tex Avery’s 1950 “The Peachy Cobbler,” or the gremlin in that Bugs Bunny cartoon?
From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2022
It came after a difficult night for Red Bull, in which they made a number of changes to the car chasing a technical gremlin.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2022
Seven was almost positive Valley was a cuco or, at the very least, part gremlin.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
