: a cause of error or equipment malfunction (as in aircraft) conceived of as a small mischievous gnome
Synonyms
Examples of gremlin in a Sentence
during the World Wars, fighter pilots adopted the fanciful notion that gremlins were responsible for mechanical failures on their planes
Recent Examples on the Web
Yet in their original form gremlins are alive and well, living under new names—daemons, worms, virtual pets.
—
The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024
With McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari introducing new updates almost every week, Red Bull has precious little time to address its gremlins.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
Or Starliner has gremlins, which could explain a lot.
—David Szondy, New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2024
Dinner severely lacks salt, and the salt gremlin at the back of my brain is not happy.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 12 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gremlin 
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The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2024
With McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari introducing new updates almost every week, Red Bull has precious little time to address its gremlins.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
Or Starliner has gremlins, which could explain a lot.
—David Szondy, New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2024
Dinner severely lacks salt, and the salt gremlin at the back of my brain is not happy.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 12 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for gremlin
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Dictionary Entries Near gremlin
Cite this Entry
“Gremlin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gremlin. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gremlin
noun
grem·lin
ˈgrem-lən 
: a small mischievous or troublesome creature
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