Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

faggot

play
noun fag·got \ˈfa-gət\

Definition of faggot

offensive

  1. —used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a male homosexual

faggotry

play \ˈfa-gə-trē\ noun, slang, offensive

faggoty

play \ˈfa-gə-tē\ adjective, slang, offensive

See faggot defined for English-language learners

Explore Merriam-Webster

alt-599ddb983a439
Trending: 'Acrostic' Spikes Following Hidden Messages in Letters of Resignation
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Vocabulary Thrives in Darkness
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Origin and Etymology of faggot

earlier and dialect, contemptuous word for a woman or child, probably from 1fagot

Learn More about faggot

  1. See words that rhyme with faggot

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

opine

play

to state as an opinion

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. acrostic "The initial letters form a word"

  2. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  3. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  4. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  5. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"

How did "sketchy" come to describe creeps?

2-pairs-of-scissors
What's the Singular of 'Scissors'?

A tricky, double-edged word origin.

a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Great Words for Twilight and Darkness

Words for the goth in all of us

bunch-of-yellow-balloons-lit-by-the-sun
Helium: This Word Brought to You by a Solar Eclipse

And by the Sun, with some help from Greek.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game