gofer

noun

go·​fer ˈgō-fər How to pronounce gofer (audio)
variants or less commonly go-fer or gopher
informal
: an employee whose duties include running errands : lackey

Examples of gofer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The group brought in others: a butcher here, a car-wash operator there, in addition to dozens of gofers, petty drug peddlers, and lookouts who kept an eye on the whereabouts of every resident, visitor, and passerby in the G.U.’s areas of control. Alma Guillermoprieto, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 When Grainge was seventeen, a talent agent in Soho hired him as a sandwich guy, the lowliest gofer. John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2024 Though her daughter, who just started playing the cello, will join Giddens in Ojai as a gofer. Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2023 His career in music started as a gofer at A&L Record Distributors before becoming general manager for Philly Groove Records. Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019 In its first sequence, a harried gofer named Manny Torres (played by Diego Calva) tries to transport an elephant into the Hollywood Hills for a big-shot producer’s party, a farcical task that ends with the elephant pooping on the camera lens—in a way, on the viewers themselves. David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2022 Walt Nauta, a cook and military valet in the Trump White House who is now employed as an all-purpose gofer for the former president and who ushered the group to the table before leaving them alone to talk. Jacqueline Alemany, Washington Post, 18 Dec. 2022 Dodd in 1961, first as a gofer and record vendor and eventually as a talent scout, engineer and producer for Dodd’s Studio One, a Jamaican hit factory in the early 1960s. New York Times, 30 Aug. 2021 McCarthy climbed the political ladder from volunteer gofer for a hometown congressman to U.S. House leadership by building relationships and compromising. Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gofer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of go for

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gofer was in 1967

Dictionary Entries Near gofer

Cite this Entry

“Gofer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gofer. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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