goat

goat · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A hardy domesticated ruminant mammal with backward-curving horns, kept for its milk, meat, and hair.

  2. 2.

    A wild mammal related to the domestic goat, such as the mountain goat.

  3. 3.

    (informal) A person who is blamed for a failure or defeat; a scapegoat.

  4. 4.

    (slang, acronym) GOAT: Greatest Of All Time.

Forms

plural: goats

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    get someone's goat — to annoy or irritate someone
  • •
    scapegoat — a person blamed for others' mistakes
  • •
    separate the sheep from the goats — to distinguish good from bad

Related words

See also: cow, farm, sheep
Synonyms: billy goat (male), kid (young goat), nanny goat (female)

Etymology

From Old English gat ("she-goat"), from Proto-Germanic gaito. Related to Dutch geit and German Geiss.