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
Yes, plenty of errors were made — six of them by shortstop Trevor Story in September alone — but errors are different from gaffes.
—Steve Buckley, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
However, once the defense returned to steady action, the New England offense was consistently set up with strong field position due to special teams and offensive gaffes.
—Mike Kaye
september 28, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2025
From Mitchell’s two gaffes to the Colts only playing 10 men on defense on Atwell’s TD, Indianapolis lost the game as much as the Rams won it.
—Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 28 Sep. 2025
Keller took advantage and scored after two of the gaffes and the third killed a drive in the end zone.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gaffe
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Steve Buckley, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
However, once the defense returned to steady action, the New England offense was consistently set up with strong field position due to special teams and offensive gaffes.
—Mike Kaye
september 28, Charlotte Observer, 28 Sep. 2025
From Mitchell’s two gaffes to the Colts only playing 10 men on defense on Atwell’s TD, Indianapolis lost the game as much as the Rams won it.
—Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 28 Sep. 2025
Keller took advantage and scored after two of the gaffes and the third killed a drive in the end zone.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 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 7 Oct. 2025.
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gaffe
noun
: a noticeable mistake especially of manners
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