blooper

[ bloo-per ]

noun

1. Informal. an embarrassing or humorous mistake, as one spoken live over a radio or television broadcast or one recorded during the filming of a movie, television show, etc.:

   At the end of each season, the cast gathers to watch all the hilarious bloopers that were edited out along the way.

   Synonyms: goof, gaffe, slip, blunder, error

2. Radio. a receiving set that generates from its antenna radio-frequency signals that interfere with other nearby receivers.
3. Baseball.
   1. Also called bloop, looper, Texas leaguer. a fly ball that carries just beyond the infield, where it is out of catching range for both the infielders and the outfielders, resulting in a hit for the batter.
   2. Also blooper ball []. a pitched ball that travels in a high arc before deceptively dropping into the strike zone.

blooper

/ ˈbluːpə /

noun

1. informal.
   a blunder; bloomer; stupid mistake

Word History and Origins

Origin of blooper¹

First recorded in 1925–30; bloop + -er ¹, originally in reference to a radio receiver that emits bloops

Word History and Origins

Origin of blooper¹

C20: from bloop (imitative of an embarrassing sound) + -er ¹

Example Sentences

I’ve seen pieces of the show, and discovered that the parts that really bring me back are the blooper reels.

From Los Angeles Times

Villarreal: I want to see the blooper reel.

From Los Angeles Times

Its fraternal spirit reminded me of the blooper reels you’d see at the end of the Burt Reynolds movies made by director Hal Needham who, yes, began his career as a stunt double.

From Los Angeles Times

While the actor insists he’s not a naturally funny person — he credits Jacob’s comic flare to what’s written on the page and, maybe, the timing he honed on stage — Williams says the blooper reel proves otherwise.

From Los Angeles Times

She played a stripped-down version of the song on the grass behind home plate as mascots Change-Up the Turtle, Blooper the Hound Dog and Bucky the Beaver solemnly stood with their right forepaws and other appendages on their prodigious chests.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• gaffe