goat

noun

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\ ˈgōt

plural goats

Definition of goat

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a or plural goat : any of various hollow-horned ruminant mammals (especially of the genus Capra) related to the sheep but of lighter build and with backwardly arching horns, a short tail, and usually straight hair especially : one (Capra hircus) long domesticated for its milk, wool, and flesh

b capitalized : capricorn

2 : a licentious man : lecher

3 : scapegoat sense 2

GOAT

abbreviation or noun

\ ˈgōt

variants: or less commonly G.O.A.T.

plural GOATs also G.O.A.T.s

Definition of GOAT (Entry 2 of 2)

: the greatest of all time : the most accomplished and successful individual in the history of a particular sport or category of performance or activity As much fun as it is to debate who is the greatest in NBA history, it's pointless, a question for which there can be no definitive answer…. The list of players who could be considered the GOAT is long, and each one is worthy in his own right.— Nancy Armour There's no denying what Aaron Rodgers has done in his career, but to say Rodgers is the GOAT is a big statement considering what Tom Brady has accomplished. — Pro Football Weekly Former President (and arguably the GOAT of post-presidency careers) Jimmy Carter is leasing 10 acres of his Georgia peanut farm to SolAmerica to create a 1.3MW solar array.— Walter Einenkel If championships alone are the measuring stick, then Michael [Jordan] is probably going to remain the popular choice as the GOAT. But if I can go on aesthetics alone, I know I'd rather watch LeBron [James].— Bob Ryan

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Examples of goat in a Sentence

Noun In the last inning, a home run can make you the hero, and a strikeout can make you the goat. an unhappy childhood was the goat he used to rationalize every failure and shortcoming

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Lantz grew up on a goat farm in Norco, 100 miles north of San Diego. — Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, "One inmate’s story: Cells piled with trash, violence and a pervasive fear of COVID-19," 13 Dec. 2020 Their award-winning Seascape is a bright, semi-hard cheese of cow and goat milk that tastes like a happy medium between gouda and cheddar, and the Holey Cow is California’s only Swiss-style cheese. — Hannah Lee Leidy, Condé Nast Traveler, "9 Delicious Cheese Shops That Ship Nationwide," 8 Dec. 2020 Krampus is a creepy, part-man and part-goat character who is fond of nets, chains, pitchforks and such. — Doug Maccash | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "Krampus delights with Ho Ho horrible drive-through Christmas ‘parade’," 6 Dec. 2020 The park also shelters a rare wild goat breed, 300 fish species, and more than 80 bird species, as well as reptiles, dolphins, whales, terrestrial flora, and the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, known as Neptune grass. — Travel, "Diving into Greece’s first underwater museum," 2 Dec. 2020 Culls like the Grand Teton goat removal have proven effective, but many question the ethics of such management practices. — Outdoor Life, "National Parks Service Increasingly Calls on Hunters to Help Cull Non-Native Bison, Mountain Goats," 24 Nov. 2020 And in mountain-goat terrain, where just keeping going replaces going quickly, the Hummer plods through and over stuff that almost defies credibility. — Tony Swan, Popular Mechanics, ""Earth Mover": PM Test Drives the 1992 Civilian Hummer," 20 Oct. 2020 The women, both wearing matching red face masks and T-shirts bearing the Norwegian flag, recently helped customers purchase traditional Scandinavian Christmas decorations, such as julenisse, a Santa-like gnome, and julebukk, the Yule goat. — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, "A Norwegian church in San Pedro honors a saint who brings light to darkness. Fitting in a pandemic," 13 Dec. 2020 The Times of Israel reports that the church was built atop of an earlier temple to Pan, who was often depicted with the legs and horns of a goat, around 400 A.D. — Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, "Altar to Ancient Greek God Pan Found Embedded in Wall of Byzantine Church," 3 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'goat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.