oof

American

[oof] / uf /

Sometimes ooof

interjection

(an exclamation used to sympathize with someone else’s pain or dismay, or to express one’s own): Oof, I've got tons of schoolwork to do this week.

Oof, that conversation must’ve been so awkward and hurtful!
Oof, I've got tons of schoolwork to do this week.

oof British

/ uːf /

noun

slang money

"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

Other Word Forms

oofy adjective

Etymology

Origin of oof

First recorded in 1770–80; imitative

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.

He moves, he says, “with an oof in each step.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

This power that I got right now, oof, oof, it's good.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2023

More than that: The defense absolutely suffocated Seattle — oof, are there problems for the Seahawks, both in the short and long term — forcing eight punts.

From Washington Post • Nov. 29, 2021

There is growing concern that the country’s health care facilities could quickly become overwhelmed as the large number oof mutations in omicron has led to fears that it could be much more easily transmissible.

From Slate • Nov. 27, 2021

She let out a startled oof and shifted uneasily.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023