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

• familiarity
• faux pas
• gaff
• impropriety
• indiscretion
• solecism

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

The verbal gaffes that have been part of his identity for a half century were on full display, his stammering evident, his blame easy to spread on his staff. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 12 July 2024

White House and campaign officials chided the press for focusing on the gaffes, but scrutiny of Biden's every word has become inevitable in the wake of his dismal debate performance last month. —Zachary Basu, Axios, 12 July 2024

Instead, we got noted gasbag Jesse Watters, who naturally dug in on the gaffes. —Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 12 July 2024

In response to these gaffes, Clyburn pointed to Biden's history with a stutter. —Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 12 July 2024

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

Kids Definition

gaffe

noun

ˈgaf 

: a noticeable mistake especially of manners