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 ClareySynonyms
Examples 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
Quarterback Will Howard, whose late clock-management gaffe doomed the Buckeyes in Eugene, has been impressive since.
—Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
The Bears’ second major special teams gaffe came in the third quarter when Carter was trying to call players off from touching a Vikings punt, and the ball bounced up and hit him in the leg.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 24 Nov. 2024
The Terps missed nine free throws in an 86-52 demolition of Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 8 and seven in an 84-53 smashing of Florida A&M on Monday, but those gaffes were overshadowed by the team’s overwhelming margins of victory.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 16 Nov. 2024
Biden thinks the elites and the press are hyper-focused on his gaffes, and let those made by Trump and others slide.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
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Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024
The Bears’ second major special teams gaffe came in the third quarter when Carter was trying to call players off from touching a Vikings punt, and the ball bounced up and hit him in the leg.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 24 Nov. 2024
The Terps missed nine free throws in an 86-52 demolition of Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 8 and seven in an 84-53 smashing of Florida A&M on Monday, but those gaffes were overshadowed by the team’s overwhelming margins of victory.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 16 Nov. 2024
Biden thinks the elites and the press are hyper-focused on his gaffes, and let those made by Trump and others slide.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gaffe
Dictionary Entries Near gaffe
Cite this Entry
“Gaffe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaffe. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
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gaffe
noun
: a noticeable mistake especially of manners
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