goomba

G2O1O1M3B3A1
/ˈɡuːmbə/

noun

A mushroom-like enemy in the Mario franchise.

UncommonScrabble 11

Meanings

goomba1

noungoomba (plural goombas)

plural goombas

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of goombah (“Italian”).
  2. alternativeAlternative spelling of gumbe (“Jamaican drum”).
  3. Alternative letter-case form of Goomba.

Goomba2

nounGoomba (plural Goombas)

plural Goombas · alternative goomba

  1. video gamesA mushroom-like enemy in the Mario franchise.

    Starting with our infantry, we have our enlisted ranks with Private Goomba. Uh, this makes sense: it is the basic troop.

    2019 February 17, Polygon, “Bowser's military hierarchy - Unraveled”, in YouTube, retrieved 13 Sep 2026
    1 more example

    Super Mario 64 is full of different enemies. We got bob-ombs, we got koopas, we have a chain chomp. But perhaps the most iconic enemy is the goomba. It's the first enemy you see in the game, and it's a pretty easy encounter. You just attack him and he dies. But despite how simple goombas seem, they actually have a ton of glitches, which is what we're here to talk about today....

    2024 December 7, pannenkoek2012, “Every Goomba Glitch in Super Mario 64”, in YouTube, retrieved 13 Sep 2026

Origin

  1. Hungariangomba“mushroom, fungus”
  2. Neapolitancumpà
  3. EnglishGoomba

Likely derived either from goombah (“friend”), in turn from Neapolitan cumpà, or from Hungarian gomba (“mushroom, fungus”). . For the voicing of stops compare gabagool.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

goomba. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goomba

MLA

“goomba.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goomba. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “goomba,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goomba.

Source: goomba on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.