What does "goose" mean?
Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are generally bigger than ducks.
Goose
/ɡuːs/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are generally bigger than ducks.
- Grammar: goose is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: anser, bantam, banty, barn-door fowl.
- Useful contrasts: deflate, ignore, pat.
- Usage evidence: Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
How to use "goose"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "goose" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "goose" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "goose" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "goose" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "goose" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "anser" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "goose", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are generally bigger than ducks. countable, uncountable
"There is a flock of geese on the pond."
- 2 web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks wordnet
- 3 A female goose. countable, uncountable
"Ganders and geese are at their best for stock from two to ten years old. They live to a great age—it is stated to thirty or more years—but after ten years they cannot be reckoned upon as reliable assets on a farm. Two years old is the best age to mate them, making up pens of a gander and two or three geese at the New Year. It is difficult sometimes to distinguish ganders from geese. A practical man is, however, rarely mistaken."
- 4 flesh of a goose (domestic or wild) wordnet
- 5 The flesh of the goose used as food. countable, uncountable
"Mrs. Cratchit made the gravy (ready beforehand in a little saucepan) hissing hot; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard upon their posts, crammed spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 a man who is a stupid incompetent fool wordnet
- 7 A silly person. countable, slang, uncountable
"I'm sorry for you, but you're such a goose."
- 8 A tailor's iron, heated in live coals or embers, used to press fabrics. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Come in, tailor. Here you may roast your goose."
- 9 A young woman or girlfriend. South-Africa, countable, dated, slang, uncountable
- 10 An old English board game in which players moved counters along a board, earning a double move when they reached the picture of a goose. historical, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To sharply poke or pinch the buttocks, or prod between the buttocks, of (a person). slang, transitive
"She greeted Miss Lonelyhearts, then took hold of her husband and shook the breath out of him. When he was quiet, she dragged him into their apartment. Miss Lonelyhearts followed and as he passed her in the dark foyer, she goosed him and laughed."
- 2 give a spurt of fuel to wordnet
- 3 To stimulate; to spur. slang, transitive
"Almost everyone in McKay’s impossibly starry cast feels like they’re jumping into the SNL host role, game for some light comedic lifting while waiting for the pros to show up and goose the laughs."
- 4 prod into action wordnet
- 5 To gently accelerate (a vehicle); to give repeated, small taps on the accelerator of (a vehicle); to feather the throttle of (a vehicle). slang, transitive
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 pinch in the buttocks wordnet
- 7 Of private-hire taxi drivers, to pick up a passenger who has not booked a cab, in violation of UK licensing conditions. UK, slang
- 8 To hiss (a performer) off the stage. slang, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "goose"?
Common synonyms include: anser, bantam, banty, barn-door fowl, barnyard fowl, biddy.
How do you use "goose" in a sentence?
Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
How do you pronounce "goose"?
Pronounced /ɡuːs/.
Etymology
PIE word *ǵʰh₂éns From Middle English goos, gos, from Old English gōs, from Proto-West Germanic *gans, from Proto-Germanic *gans, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns. Cognates Compare West Frisian goes, North Frisian göis (also Fering-Öömrang dialect North Frisian gus; Sölring dialect North Frisian Guus; Heligoland dialect North Frisian gus), Low German Goos, Gans, Dutch gans, German Gans, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian gås, Icelandic gæs, Irish gé, Latin ānser, Latvian zùoss, Russian гусь (gusʹ), Albanian gatë, Ancient Greek χήν (khḗn), Avestan 𐬰𐬁 (zā), Sanskrit हंस (haṃsá). * The tailor's iron is so called from the likeness of the handle to the neck of a goose.