griefer

grief·er
G2R1I1E1F4E1R1
US/ˈɡɹifɚ/UK/ˈɡɹiːfə/

noun

One who griefs: a player who plays a game primarily to reduce other players’ enjoyment of it.

Scrabble 11

Meanings

noungriefer (plural griefers)

plural griefers

  1. InternetgamesOne who griefs: a player who plays a game primarily to reduce other players’ enjoyment of it.

    First, be a tree; in other words, ignore the griefer. This approach can be very effective because most griefers want you to get pissed off, and if you don't, they may move on to more fertile targets.

    2007, Brian A. White, Second Life: A Guide to Your Virtual World, Que Publishing, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    Julian Dibbell's description of griefer culture demonstrates a high degree of congruence with Huizinga's description of the spoilsport. The griefers have indeed “made a new community,” loosely organized on somethingawful.com and the /b/ forum of 4chan.org

    2011, Kristie Miller, Marlene Clark, Dating: Philosophy for Everyone, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN

    “[…]Maybe we can set up a trap for the griefer.” “That's an amazing idea!” said Kyra. “ What type of trap?” asked Steve. “We can create something very valuable that the griefer might want to steal or destroy and we can wait by it until the griefer arrives.

    2015, Winter Morgan, The Mystery of the Griefer's Mark: An Unofficial Gamer's Novel, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN

Origin

From grief + -er. First attested in the early 2000s.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French pourisseur
  • pourisseurTranslations
Russian грифер
  • грифер (grifer)Translations

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with griefer

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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