1
: a stupid person
2
a
: a man hired to terrorize or eliminate opponents
went on; gone on; going on; goes on
1
2
: to take place : happen
what's going on
3
: to talk especially in an effusive manner
the way people go on about their ancestors—
Hamilton Basso
Hamilton BassoSynonyms
Noun
- airhead
- birdbrain
- blockhead
- bonehead
- bubblehead
- chowderhead
- chucklehead
- clodpoll
- clodpole
- clot [British]
- cluck
- clunk
- cretin
- cuddy [British dialect]
- cuddie
- deadhead
- dim bulb [slang]
- dimwit
- dip
- dodo
- dolt
- donkey
- doofus [slang]
- dope
- dork [slang]
- dullard
- dum-dum
- dumbbell
- dumbhead
- dummkopf
- dummy
- dunce
- dunderhead
- fathead
- gander
- golem
- goof
- half-wit
- hammerhead
- hardhead
- idiot
- ignoramus
- imbecile
- jackass
- know-nothing
- knucklehead
- lamebrain
- loggerhead [chiefly dialect]
- loon
- lump
- lunkhead
- meathead
- mome [archaic]
- moron
- mug [chiefly British]
- mutt
- natural
- nimrod [slang]
- nincompoop
- ninny
- ninnyhammer
- nit [chiefly British]
- nitwit
- noddy
- noodle
- numskull
- numbskull
- oaf
- pinhead
- prat [British]
- ratbag [chiefly Australian]
- saphead
- schlub [slang]
- shlub
- schnook [slang]
- simpleton
- stock
- stupe
- stupid
- thickhead
- turkey
- woodenhead
- yahoo
- yo-yo
Verb
Examples of goon in a Sentence
Noun
He was beat up by a couple of goons.
an unfortunate tendency to call those who disagree with him “brainless goons”
Verb
what in the world is going on in there?
my, but Aunt Betty does go on about all of her aches and pains
Recent Examples on the WebDavid Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 May 2024
An act of kid mischief angers some motorcycle-riding goons, who capture Furiosa and take her to their ruthless and mercurial leader, Dementus (Hemsworth).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 May 2024
Each battle sequence is a close-quarters, desperate struggle against a single goon.
—PCMAG, 21 May 2024
Avalanche needs leader to deliver message to Stars goon Jamie Benn that Gabe Landeskog can’t
Keeler: O, Captain!
—Andy Cross, The Denver Post, 11 May 2024
The trio learns these villains are goons for the tyrannical bonobo Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
The Republic reported that near Guadalupe Road and Freestone Parkway, two goons assaulted a victim on the sidewalk.
—Abigail Celaya, The Arizona Republic, 4 May 2024
When Gosling pushes away a goon, the sound effect audiences can hear is the same as one in The Six Million Dollar Man, another TV hit starring Majors.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 3 May 2024
Ayatollah Khamenei and his goons look monstrous, craven, inept, and isolated.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
Sari Hitchins, Parents, 22 May 2024
The record went on to win four Grammys, including album of the year.
—Nicole Sands, Peoplemag, 22 May 2024
The Yankees went on to win that game seven to five and knocked the Cubs out of the Series the following day.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 22 May 2024
Hoping to catalog the creatures that call the rivers home, a group of researchers went on four expeditions to some of the tributaries criss-crossing the Amazon.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024
The picture went on to deliver $496.4 million in global ticket sales.
—Thomas Buckley, Fortune, 22 May 2024
Section 230 was passed in 1996 as part of a broader package concerned with access to pornography on the internet, much of which would go on to be struck down by the courts as violating the First Amendment.
—Jessica Melugin, National Review, 22 May 2024
The trend went on until every song from Moby’s 1999 studio album, Play — released 25 years ago this month — was synced at least once.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 22 May 2024
Parliament has done little to help resolve Iran’s economic crisis, and Mr. Ghalibaf, despite calling himself an advocate for Iran’s poor, attracted national outrage in 2022 over reports that his family had gone on a shopping spree in Turkey.
—Erika Solomon, New York Times, 21 May 2024
Noun
The tragedy also serves to fuel Heraldo’s dreams of Jorge, adding the weight of guilt, while fear factors in via his terror of Bambina’s semiautomatic-toting goon Rafael (David Santos) coming after him.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 May 2024
An act of kid mischief angers some motorcycle-riding goons, who capture Furiosa and take her to their ruthless and mercurial leader, Dementus (Hemsworth).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 May 2024
Each battle sequence is a close-quarters, desperate struggle against a single goon.
—PCMAG, 21 May 2024
Avalanche needs leader to deliver message to Stars goon Jamie Benn that Gabe Landeskog can’t
Keeler: O, Captain!
—Andy Cross, The Denver Post, 11 May 2024
The trio learns these villains are goons for the tyrannical bonobo Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand).
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
The Republic reported that near Guadalupe Road and Freestone Parkway, two goons assaulted a victim on the sidewalk.
—Abigail Celaya, The Arizona Republic, 4 May 2024
When Gosling pushes away a goon, the sound effect audiences can hear is the same as one in The Six Million Dollar Man, another TV hit starring Majors.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 3 May 2024
Ayatollah Khamenei and his goons look monstrous, craven, inept, and isolated.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 19 Apr. 2024
Verb
In the books, Harold goes on a treasure hunt, creates a fairy tale, visits the North Pole, and travels to the sky and the circus.
—Sari Hitchins, Parents, 22 May 2024
The record went on to win four Grammys, including album of the year.
—Nicole Sands, Peoplemag, 22 May 2024
The Yankees went on to win that game seven to five and knocked the Cubs out of the Series the following day.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 22 May 2024
Hoping to catalog the creatures that call the rivers home, a group of researchers went on four expeditions to some of the tributaries criss-crossing the Amazon.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024
The picture went on to deliver $496.4 million in global ticket sales.
—Thomas Buckley, Fortune, 22 May 2024
Section 230 was passed in 1996 as part of a broader package concerned with access to pornography on the internet, much of which would go on to be struck down by the courts as violating the First Amendment.
—Jessica Melugin, National Review, 22 May 2024
The trend went on until every song from Moby’s 1999 studio album, Play — released 25 years ago this month — was synced at least once.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 22 May 2024
Parliament has done little to help resolve Iran’s economic crisis, and Mr. Ghalibaf, despite calling himself an advocate for Iran’s poor, attracted national outrage in 2022 over reports that his family had gone on a shopping spree in Turkey.
—Erika Solomon, New York Times, 21 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'goon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near goon
Cite this Entry
“Goon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goon. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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