gofer

or go-fer, go·pher

[ goh-fer ]

noun

, Slang.

1. an employee whose chief duty is running errands.

gofer

/ ˈɡəʊfə /

noun

1. slang.
   an employee or assistant whose duties include menial tasks such as running errands

Word History and Origins

Origin of gofer¹

1965–70; respelling of go for (verb phrase), with -er representing both vowel reduction in for and -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of gofer¹

C20: originally US: alteration of go for

Example Sentences

He began his career in the film industry in the mid-1930s working as an extra and was a gofer at Denham Film Studios, where he first met Lean, an editor, in 1942.

From Los Angeles Times

Our heroine, a funny, foul-mouthed gofer who’s racking up miles driving in Bucharest, has just told her passenger about a road outside the city that has more memorials edging it than it has kilometers.

From New York Times

The two first met at a Western Sizzlin steakhouse in Memphis, at a benefit for Don Ezell, the longtime gofer at Sun Records.

From New York Times

He entered show business at age 16 as a TV mailroom gofer.

From Seattle Times

“I happened to be sitting in the gofer’s seat. Nothing personal. It’s just the way the very rich and powerful are different.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• gopher