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

Thomas’ baserunning gaffe made the wrong kind of national attention. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2026

In mounting the show, Schuch and her team committed a gaffe of their own. —Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

Morgan and Tilis want to give Panthers head coach Dave Canales the best roster possible, and the duo wasn’t afraid to dissect their previous gaffes to make sure that happened. —Mike Kaye april 20, Charlotte Observer, 20 Apr. 2026

In last Wednesday’s series finale against the San Diego Padres, Chapman committed two throwing errors and was caught on camera airing out first baseman Casey Schmitt following the second gaffe. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 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
• graff
• graph
• haff
• half
• laugh
• raff
• staff
• staph
• autograph

Kids Definition

gaffe

noun

ˈgaf 

: a noticeable mistake especially of manners