gaffe

G2A1F4F4E1
/ɡæf/

noun

A foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public; a social blunder; a breach of etiquette.

“make a gaffe”

Similar
blooperblundermistakeerrorslipslip-upaberrationbloomer
OriginFrench gaffe ← Old Occitan gaf ← Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷 →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

noungaffe (plural gaffes)

plural gaffes · alternative gaff

  1. A foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public; a social blunder; a breach of etiquette.

    make a gaffe

    Synonyms: blooper, blunder, mistake, error, slip, slip-up, aberration, bloomer

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public; a social blunder; a breach of etiquette.

Similar
blooperblundermistakeerrorslipslip-upaberrationbloomerblooperblunderbonerboo-boobreakclangercock-updisadventureerrorfaultfaux pasfloater

More synonyms by meaning

nouna socially awkward or tactless act

Similar
faux passolecismslipgaucherie
Broader
blunderblooperbloomer
Also see
bloomerblooperbozo eruptionbum noteclangercock-uperrorfaux pasflufffuckupgaucheriegooflapselapsuslulumess-upmistakemuck-upscrewupslipslip-upsolecismstumbletrip

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Gothic𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷“clasp”
  2. Old Occitangaf“clasp”
  3. Frenchgaffe“blunder”
  4. Englishgaffe

From French gaffe (“blunder”), in turn from Old Occitan gaf (“clasp”). Ultimately derived from Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷 (gafah, “clasp”, noun) (𐌲𐌰- (ga-, intensifier) + 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (fahan, “to catch”)). Doublet of gaff.

More words from French, Old Occitan, Gothic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian гаф, грешка
  • гаф (gaf)a foolish error, especially one made in public
  • грешка (greška)a foolish error, especially one made in public
Chinese Mandarin 失態 /失态, 出醜 /出丑
  • 失態 /失态 (shītài)a foolish error, especially one made in public
  • 出醜 /出丑 (chūchǒu)a foolish error, especially one made in public
Czech blbost, kravina
  • blbosta foolish error, especially one made in public
  • kravinaa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • botaa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • faux pasa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • trapasa foolish error, especially one made in public
Danish fejltagelse
  • fejltagelsea foolish error, especially one made in public
Dutch blunder, uitschuiver
  • blundera foolish error, especially one made in public
  • uitschuivera foolish error, especially one made in public
  • flatera foolish error, especially one made in public
  • gaffea foolish error, especially one made in public
  • misstapa foolish error, especially one made in public
Finnish möhläys, munaus
  • möhläysa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • munausa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • mokaa foolish error, especially one made in public
French gaffe, faux pas
  • gaffea foolish error, especially one made in public
  • faux pasa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • bévuea foolish error, especially one made in public
German Fauxpas, Ausrutscher
  • Fauxpasa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • Ausrutschera foolish error, especially one made in public
  • Patzera foolish error, especially one made in public
Greek γκάφα
  • γκάφα (gkáfa)a foolish error, especially one made in public
Hebrew פַשְלָה
  • פַשְלָה (fáshla)a foolish error, especially one made in public
Hungarian ügyetlenség, ballépés
  • ügyetlenséga foolish error, especially one made in public
  • ballépésa foolish error, especially one made in public
Italian sproposito, figuraccia
  • spropositoa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • figuracciaa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • errorea foolish error, especially one made in public
  • topicaa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • gaffea foolish error, especially one made in public
Japanese 失態
  • 失態 (shittai)a foolish error, especially one made in public
Norwegian brøler
  • brølera foolish error, especially one made in public
Polish gafa
  • gafaa foolish error, especially one made in public
Portuguese gafe
  • gafea foolish error, especially one made in public
Romanian gafă
  • gafăa foolish error, especially one made in public
Russian опло́шность, про́мах
  • опло́шность (oplóšnostʹ)a foolish error, especially one made in public
  • про́мах (prómax)a foolish error, especially one made in public
  • оши́бка (ošíbka)a foolish error, especially one made in public
  • конфуз (konfuz)a foolish error, especially one made in public
Spanish metida de pata, metedura de pata
  • metida de pataa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • metedura de pataa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • desliza foolish error, especially one made in public
  • pifiaa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • cagadaa foolish error, especially one made in public
  • gazapoa foolish error, especially one made in public
Swedish tabbe, blunder
  • tabbea foolish error, especially one made in public
  • blundera foolish error, especially one made in public
  • fadäsa foolish error, especially one made in public
Turkish gaf
  • gafa foolish error, especially one made in public

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with gaffe

staffhalfgraphcalfaffRAFcafgraffpolygraphcarafetaffchaffgaffstaphnaffcaffdaffwaffelectrocardiographbaffagraffeblock graphcomplete bipartite graphdraff
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

gaff
Cite this entry
APA

gaffe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaffe

MLA

“gaffe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaffe. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gaffe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaffe.

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