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
Christopher ClareyExamples 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
The two teams traded special teams gaffes.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2025
Bad center snaps, dropped passes, pre-snap penalties, gaffes by the defensive secondary.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
Smart and well-timed, but a gaffe nonetheless.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2025
In 2024, then-President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid after a series of gaffes and a poor debate performance raised concerns about his cognitive state.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
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Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2025
Bad center snaps, dropped passes, pre-snap penalties, gaffes by the defensive secondary.
—Jeff Faraudo, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
Smart and well-timed, but a gaffe nonetheless.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2025
In 2024, then-President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid after a series of gaffes and a poor debate performance raised concerns about his cognitive state.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
Cite this Entry
“Gaffe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaffe. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gaffe
noun
: a noticeable mistake especially of manners
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