John o' Groats

proper noun

A village in northeast Caithness, Highland council area, Scotland. It is known because the distance between it and Land's End is geographically the longest distance between any two points on the mainland of Great Britain (OS grid ref ND3872).

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A village in northeast Caithness, Highland council area, Scotland. It is known because the distance between it and Land's End is geographically the longest distance between any two points on the mainland of Great Britain (OS grid ref ND3872).

    "It’s fair getting on my mind," he said, "these horrible things happening. I’d like to get right away from London, just as far as I could—that I would!" "Up to John-o’-Groat’s?" said Daisy, laughing.

    1913, Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger

Origin

Named after Jan de Groot, a Dutchman who once plied a ferry from the Scottish mainland to Orkney.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Scottish Gaelic Taigh Iain Ghròte
  • Taigh Iain Ghròtevillage in Scotland
Cite this entry
APA

John o' Groats. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/John%20o'%20Groats

MLA

“John o' Groats.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/John%20o'%20Groats. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “John o' Groats,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/John%20o'%20Groats.

Source: John o' Groats on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.