gaffe

noun

ˈgaf 

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

Synonyms of gaffe

• blunder
• mistake
• error
• indiscretion

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

Steyer didn’t have a major gaffe or scandal that torpedoed his campaign. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026

It was so well presented with countless references to viral moments and gaffes. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026

DoorDash can at least take comfort in the fact that Dot’s latest gaffe isn’t wholly unique. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 24 June 2026

Canseco's misplay – one of the most infamous gaffes in sports history – similarly resulted in a home run for the other team. — Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, probably a sense development of gaffe gaff entry 1

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gaffe

• calf
• chaff
• gaff
• graf
• graff
• graph
• haff
• half
• laugh
• raff
• staff
• staph

Kids Definition

gaffe

noun

ˈgaf 

: a noticeable mistake especially of manners