McGuffin
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of McGuffin
C20: coined (c. 1935) by Sir Alfred Hitchcock
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.
Even the goal of the Michelin star was kind of underplayed in the end — what seemed like the goalpost became a spiritual McGuffin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Mr Hess, for his part, compared the department to a "McGuffin" - a plot device famously used by Alfred Hitchcock to develop a character's plot arc, while at the same time being largely irrelevant.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2025
In fact, the judge limited her ruling only to the possibility of a change in policy, according to Jennifer McGuffin, a spokeswoman for Romanucci’s firm.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2021
“DeepMind has vast resources to keep this database up to date and they are better placed to do this than any single academic group,” McGuffin told The Verge.
From The Verge ● Jul. 22, 2021
“Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?”
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
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.
