noun
Related Words
See boorish ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of oaf
1615–25; variant of auf, Middle English alfe, Old English ælf elf; cognate with German Alp nightmare
Explanation
An oaf is the boring, ill-mannered person you hope doesn't show up at your party and send the other guests running for the door. There are many ways to be an oaf: you can be loud, insensitive, rude, or just plain stupid. The word is related to the Old English word for "elf," and originally meant a changeling — an elf's child, a little darling not known for good manners — and you probably wouldn't want one of them at your party either.
Vocabulary lists containing oaf
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
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Whoops! Synonyms for "Clumsy"
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
Going the opposite way, Justin Theroux, as the Jeff Bezos-like billionaire with the sensibility of an oaf, is awful from the start and his schtick gets more grating the more he presses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
Before landing on the small ape of “The Legend of Ochi,” Saxon first considered a giant oaf and then something closer to the slumbering beast of Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2025
But neither should you behave like an oaf.
From Washington Post • Jan. 12, 2023
At first he doesn't accept her apology but, being the immature oaf that he is, Chris gets back at her by using her as human torpedo to destroy their gooey, disgusting alien target.
From Salon • Feb. 18, 2022
A detached description of his physical features would have made him sound like an ugly, misshapen oaf: pockmarked face, decayed teeth, oversized eye sockets, massive nose, heavy in the hips, gargantuan hands and feet.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
