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oaf

[ ˈōf]

oaf

noun

[ˈōf]

plural oafs

Definition of oaf

1 : a stupid person : boob a thoughtless, clueless oaf — New York Times

2 : a big clumsy slow-witted person
//Get out of my way, you big oaf.

Other Words from oaf

oafish \ ˈō-fish \ adjective

oafishly adverb

oafishness noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for dainty

Synonyms: Synonyms

Recent Examples on the Web

//No one who touched the ball in the opposing penalty area as often as Kane was as good at not losing possession, showing that a target man doesn’t have to be a lumbering oaf whose primary skill is measuring in at over 6-foot-3.
— Jonathan Clegg, WSJ, "Harry Kane: English Soccer’s Clark Kent," 18 June 2018
//For us straight dudes, however, being big and hairy means getting thought of as an ape—a big, dumb, smelly oaf.
— Dan Savage, Chicago Reader, "‘How does one get into the gay BDSM bottoming scene?’," 7 Feb. 2018
//In Fitzpatrick, Doyle has created an extraordinarily creepy antagonist: a bully who plays dumb but always gets under the hero’s skin, a clumsy oaf who nevertheless can disappear like a cat into the darkness.
— J. Robert Lennon, New York Times, "A Stranger From the Past Confronts Roddy Doyle’s Latest Hero," 31 Oct. 2017
//Though comic buffoons and yokels are scattered through a number of Shakespeare’s tragedies, Lear’s universe is relentlessly bleak, and the Fool, despite his jingling, is neither oaf nor jester.
— Cynthia Ozick, New York Times, "King Lear Is Reborn as a 21st-Century Media Mogul," 25 Oct. 2017
//Rob Gronkowski only played eight games, but Kelce—who played all sixteen—averaged more yards per game than New England’s lovable oaf.
— Clay Skipper, GQ, "How the NFL's Travis Kelce Became the Most Fun Guy in the No Fun League," 7 Sep. 2017
//The other is Trump himself, an uninformed and undisciplined oaf who likes to shoot from the hip.
— Jeet Heer, New Republic, "This Is Not a North Korean Crisis. It’s a Trump Crisis.," 10 Aug. 2017
//But, regardless of which party wins on Thursday, criticizing the oaf in the White House will continue to be an applause line.
— John Cassidy, The New Yorker, "Theresa May’s Donald Trump Problem," 6 June 2017
//Pally, a lovable oaf from sitcoms like Happy Endings and The Mindy Project, is extremely well-cast as Ben.
— David Sims, The Atlantic, "Band Aid Is a Bleak Dive Into a Marriage," 2 June 2017

First Known Use of oaf

1682, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for oaf

alteration of auf, alfe goblin's child, probably from Middle English alven, elven elf, fairy, from Old English elfen nymphs; akin to Old English ælf elf — more at elf

Dictionary Entries near oaf

More Synonyms and Antonyms ofoaf