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 strategy has drawn some scrutiny in recent days, with the national CBS News arm involved in a handful of gaffes. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 15 Oct. 2024

When Biden was still running, Trump's campaign would often post clips of him stumbling up the stairs of Air Force One, or of his verbal gaffes. —Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2024

Prior to that gaffe, Trump was running at around 290 electoral votes, 20 more than the number needed to win. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2024

Walz, meanwhile, stumbled through answers, appeared stiff and got caught in several gaffes. —Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 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