1
: a social or diplomatic blunder
committed an embarrassing gaffe when he mispronounced her name
2
: a noticeable mistake
Kwan did not fall today, as she had in Friday's short program, a gaffe that left her in fourth place.—
Christopher Clarey
Christopher ClareyExamples of gaffe in a Sentence
He realized that he had committed an awful gaffe when he mispronounced her name.
committed a huge gaffe when she started drinking from the finger bowl
Recent Examples on the Web
Four minutes is also plenty of time for other social media users to notice a gaffe, and roast the user who made the error.
—Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 23 Mar. 2025
That’s too long for anyone, even a champion of rhetorical rope-a-dope, to go without gaffes—which was part of the point.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
The Yankees would like to see some improvement there between now and Opening Day after some gaffes this spring and last September.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2025
At the luxury restaurant, however, that clientele will expect much richer compensation if a service gaffe ruins the patrons’ evening.
—Jon Picoult, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
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Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 23 Mar. 2025
That’s too long for anyone, even a champion of rhetorical rope-a-dope, to go without gaffes—which was part of the point.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
The Yankees would like to see some improvement there between now and Opening Day after some gaffes this spring and last September.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2025
At the luxury restaurant, however, that clientele will expect much richer compensation if a service gaffe ruins the patrons’ evening.
—Jon Picoult, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Cite this Entry
“Gaffe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaffe. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gaffe
noun
: a noticeable mistake especially of manners
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