noun
1.
a clumsy, stupid person; lout.
2.
a simpleton; dunce; blockhead.
3.
Archaic.
a.
a deformed or mentally deficient child.
b.
a changeling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To oaf
00:10
Oaf
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
oaf (əʊf) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a stupid or loutish person | |
| [C17: variant of Old English ælf | |
| 'oafish | |
| —adj | |
| 'oafishly | |
| —adv | |
| 'oafishness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
oaf
1610 (implied in oafish), also auf (1621), "a changeling; a foolish child left by the fairies" [Johnson], from a Scand. source, cf. Norw. alfr "silly person," in O.N., "elf" (see elf). Hence, "a misbegotten, deformed idiot." Until recently, some dictionaries still gave the plural as oaves.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Without missing a beat, he transformed himself into a clumsy oaf and gave us three minute of delightful spontaneous clowning.
Let's be serious, the lady is a clumsy, heavy handed oaf.
Cart this oaf out to the stadium and sell admission to help pay off the debt.
He ought to have written the collector down for an oaf and a bully-he had painted enough in his years-and forgotten the matter.
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