Meanings
plural gremlins
- obsoleteRoyal Air Force slangaeronauticsA contemptible person.First known use 1920s
Synonyms: absolute zero, also-ran, chopped liver, cipher, crumb, Joe Nobody, little guy, minnow
- Royal Air Force slangaeronauticsAn imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery.First known use 1920s
Crucial time was saved by the fact Nexus didn't require a Transport & Works Act. Nevertheless, other gremlins kept raising their heads.
2023 November 29, Richard Foster, “Tyne & Wear Metro goes with the flow”, in RAIL, number 997, page 341 more example
Like Abominable Snowmen, gremlins have never actually been seen; but nobody who works with electronic gear doubts the existence of these mischievous and elusive entities. There are too many malfunctions and failures that can have no other explanation.
1963, Arthur C Clarke, chapter 8, in Glidepath, New York: Simon and Schuster, pages 72-73 - broadlyslanghobbiesA young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance.First known use 1960s
- broadlyA person regarded as similar to a fictional gremlin, in particular: mischievous, troublesome, short, or annoying.
Rosa, the main character in Tears of Themis, is also very smart, justice-driven, and willing to help. Meanwhile, the Honkai: Star Rail Trailblazer […] can often be a sarcastic, pessimistic, lazy, self-serving, dumpster-diving gremlin. […] That’s absolutely gremlin behavior.
2023 May 3, Jenni Lada, “Honkai: Star Rail’s Trailblazer Avatar Is a Gremlin and It’s Great”, in Siliconera, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2024
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA contemptible person.
nounAny mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby.
nounA young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance.
More synonyms by meaning
noun(folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Dutchgremmelen“to soil, stain; to spoil”
- Irishgruaimín“gloomy little person”
- Englishgremlin
Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested: * A variant of goblin. * From Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”); or from Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”), or griemelen, grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”); but Oxford English Dictionary says there is little evidence for such derivations. The word was popularized, especially in the United States, by the children’s novel The Gremlins (1943) by British author Roald Dahl (1916–1990), in which gremlins sabotage Royal Air Force aircraft in revenge for the destruction of their forest home to make way for an aircraft factory; the creatures later join forces with the British to fight the Nazis.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian гремлин, гном
- гремлин (gremlin)imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
- гном (gnom)imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Chinese Mandarin 葛雷姆林
- 葛雷姆林 (géléimǔlín)imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Finnish riiviö, pikkupiru
- riiviöimaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
- pikkupiruimaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
- häikkäany mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby
- keltanokkayoung, inexperienced surfer, seen as being a nuisance
German Fehlerteufel, Kobold
- Fehlerteufelany mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby
- Koboldany mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby
Greek καλικάντζαρος
- καλικάντζαρος (kalikántzaros)imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Japanese グレムリン
- グレムリンimaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Korean 그렘린
- 그렘린 (geuremnin)imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Lithuanian gremlinas
- gremlinasimaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Russian гремлин
- гремлин (gremlin)imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Ukrainian гре́млін
- гре́млін (hrémlin)imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
gremlin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gremlin
“gremlin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gremlin. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gremlin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gremlin.
Source: gremlin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.