goblin
noun
\
Definition of goblin
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms for goblin
Synonyms
brownie, dwarf, elf, faerie (also faery), fairy, fay, gnome, gremlin, hobgoblin, kobold, leprechaun, pixie (also pixy), puck, sprite, troll
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of goblin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Red spells like Fireball and Lightning Bolt along with creature types like goblins and warriors make for fast games. — Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, "How to Play 'Magic: The Gathering': Everything You Need to Know," 19 Feb. 2019 In that tale, a gravedigger named Gabriel Grubb who hates Christmas is kidnapped by goblins who help him regain the holiday spirit. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "Here's Who Actually Wrote 'A Christmas Carol,' and Other Fascinating Facts About the Story," 20 Dec. 2018 Halloween might be tomorrow night, but stylish ghouls and goblins got a leg up on the festivities over the weekend at the raging Halloween bash hosted by Allison Sarofim. — Vogue, "Allison Sarofim Hosts Her Annual Epic Halloween Bash," 30 Oct. 2018 Black people are only fit to live underground like groveling goblins. — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, "Twitter apologizes after conservative commentator Candace Owens was briefly locked out of her account," 6 Aug. 2018 Sophisticated, witty and sharply political, the book tells of the elf Brangwain Spurge and the goblin Werfel, two scholars from feuding kingdoms who are swept into a maelstrom of espionage, deceit and prejudice. — Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, "Children’s Books: Heavyweight Contenders," 22 Nov. 2018 Any witch, wizard, warlock, goblin, and or muggle can agree that there is nothing more enchanting than a well packaged (and scented) seasonal candle. — Katelyn Chef, Teen Vogue, "5 Harry Potter Holiday Candles," 9 Nov. 2018 Plenty of famous people have their names immortalized in a latin species name, from David Attenborough (Prethopalpus attenboroughi, the goblin spider) to Hugh Hefner (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, a rabbit, of course). — Sophie Weiner, Popular Mechanics, "Newly Discovered Ancient Wasp Species Gets Its Name from David Bowie," 23 June 2017 Instead of being attractive in any way, Count Orlok is truly a freaky creature of the night, all frighteningly long fingers and goblin-esque facial features. — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, "'Hotel Transylvania 3': Ranking the best movie Draculas, from Bela Lugosi to Adam Sandler," 9 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'goblin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about goblin
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
The History Behind 8 Halloween Words
The History Behind 8 Halloween Words
These words haunt us
Statistics for goblin
Last Updated
9 Mar 2019
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for goblin
The first known use of goblin was in the 14th century
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for goblin
goblin
noun
English Language Learners Definition of goblin
See the full definition for goblin in the English Language Learners Dictionary
goblin
noun
\
Kids Definition of goblin
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on goblin
What made you want to look up goblin? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Words from Greek and Latin Quiz
-
- Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
-
Words from Greek and Latin Quiz
Finally! A use for those SAT prep classes.
Take the quiz -
Name That Thing: Animal Edition
How many animals can you identify?
Take the quiz -
Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz -
Dictionary Devil
The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?
Play the game
Share goblin
Resources for goblin