gremlin

American  

[grem-lin] / ˈgrɛm lɪn /

noun

• gremlins
  plural

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.

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gremlin British  

/ ˈɡrɛmlɪn /

noun

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

2. any mischievous troublemaker

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Synonym Usage

See goblin.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gremlins
  plural

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

Explanation

A gremlin is a mischievous mythical creature that's said to cause trouble to machinery, particularly in airplanes. When you're a nervous flyer, the last thing you want to think about is gremlins messing with the plane's engines. The word gremlin first appeared in print in 1929. It emerged from the U.K.'s Royal Air Force aviator slang (possibly influenced by goblin), and it became especially popular during World War II. Gremlins were described as tricksters that could be blamed for engine malfunctions and other mysterious, unexplained mechanical problems. Gremlin was also the name of a Marvel Comics character and a 1970s AMC car, and Gremlins was a popular 1984 film.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gremlin gremlins

I scoop it up with Breton crackers, usually while standing at the fridge like a little gremlin.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2025

Now I have my VTuber model and can be a little gremlin in my pajamas and no one has to know because Monarch is always perfect.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 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

The gremlin mob turned on Root, and when they saw the triple-barreled blaster on his hip, they kept right on turning.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Recent models of the artificial-intelligence chatbot have been bringing up the creatures in conversations with users seemingly out of the blue, as well as gremlins, trolls and ogres.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

Alongside telling it to avoid platitudes, it said Codex should "never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant to the user's query".

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

As mechanized as a race — or a movie — can feel, success or failure hinge on the human element, the hero battling the gremlins in the machine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2025

Or might the notoriously finicky electrical systems in British vehicles bedevil these vehicles with compounded gremlins?

From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022

A beleaguered sprite was sheltering behind her ticket desk, besieged by angry gremlins.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Related Words

• goblin