goat

¹

[ goht ]

noun

1. any of numerous agile, hollow-horned ruminants of the genus Capra, of the family Bovidae, closely related to the sheep, found native in rocky and mountainous regions of the Old World, and widely distributed in domesticated varieties.
2. any of various related animals, as the Rocky Mountain goat.
3. Goat, Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign Capricorn.
4. Also the goat. a scapegoat or victim:

   When the police came, he was left behind to be the goat.

5. a licentious or lecherous man; lecher.

GOAT

²

or G.O.A.T.

[ goht, jee-oh-ey-tee ]

noun

, Informal.

1. greatest of all time: (used to describe or refer to a person or thing that is considered to be the best ever in a particular field, category, etc., especially in sports):

   If he hadn’t been injured, he would have been the GOAT, but he’s still a top 5 player.

   That film is indisputably GOAT—I watch it at least once a year.

Goat

¹

/ ɡəʊt /

noun

1. the Goat
   the constellation Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac

goat

²

/ ɡəʊt /

noun

1. any sure-footed agile bovid mammal of the genus Capra, naturally inhabiting rough stony ground in Europe, Asia, and N Africa, typically having a brown-grey colouring and a beard. Domesticated varieties ( C. hircus ) are reared for milk, meat, and wool caprinehircine
2. short for Rocky Mountain goat
3. informal.
   a lecherous man
4. a bad or inferior member of any group (esp in the phrase separate the sheep from the goats )
5. short for scapegoat
6. act the goat or act the giddy goat or play the goat or play the giddy goat
   to fool around
7. get someone's goat slang.
   to cause annoyance to someone

Derived Forms

• ˈgoatˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• goat·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of goat¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English got, Old English gāt; cognate with Gothic gaits, Old Norse geit, German Geiss; akin to Latin haedus “young goat, kid”

Origin of goat²

First recorded in 1965–70; originally the name of a company founded by Muhammad Ali, who applied the term greatest of all time to himself

Word History and Origins

Origin of goat¹

Old English gāt; related to Old Norse geit, Old High German geiz, Latin haedus kid

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. get someone's goat, Informal. to anger, annoy, or frustrate a person:

   His arrogance gets my goat.

More idioms and phrases containing goat

see get someone's goat ; separate the sheep from the goats .

Example Sentences

My favorite of the oil-marinated snacking foods is goat cheese, which takes well to pretty much any flavor combination, and slowly soaks up the aromatic garlic-herb oil as it sits.

From Eater

The restaurant quickly filled up—with family and friends, some of whom brought their goats and hens.

From MIT Technology Review

If you’re going to go to the GOAT conversation with me, it’s LeBron.

From Ozy

That’s how we’ve ended up with cats, dogs, goats, and other critters as “mayors” across America.

From Popular-Science

This week’s episode is all about voting, elections, democracy, and beer-guzzling goat mayors.

From Popular-Science

Nervous fans can keep a vigilant eye on it via a webcam hosted on the town website that offers 24-hour goat viewing.

From The Daily Beast

And the Gävle Goat, apparently a sensitive creature, took the destruction hard.

From The Daily Beast

Exactly one month after the first straw goat was erected in Gävle, it was mysteriously burned to a crisp.

From The Daily Beast

“I´m now writing to you from goat heaven,” he lamented on the blog he maintains.

From The Daily Beast

Gävle Goat must be dreading the imminent holiday and his fifty-fifty chance of destruction.

From The Daily Beast

Here the Goat, who evidently was not yet quite started, inquired, "Must all the halves be of the same shape?"

From Project Gutenberg

I would strongly recommend those who have children with them to take a goat as well.

From Project Gutenberg

The covering of the bales is a sort of netting made by the peasants from goat's hair; it is elastic and of great strength.

From Project Gutenberg

And the he goat, is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn that was between his eyes, the same is the first king.

From Project Gutenberg

Indeed, they used the epithet son of a goat in the same way as the modern vulgar do an appellation which is much more literal.

From Project Gutenberg