noun
goat
goht
noun
1
A horned, bearded farm animal related to sheep, often kept for milk, meat, or wool.
"The goats grazed on the hillside behind the farmhouse."
2
Informal: someone blamed for a failure, especially in sport (a "scapegoat").
"The missed penalty made him the goat of the match."
3
Slang abbreviation of "Greatest Of All Time."
"Many fans call him the goat of basketball."
How to Use Goat
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe farm animal, or (in modern slang) an abbreviation for "Greatest Of All Time," or someone unfairly blamed for a loss.
Common mistake
Context matters a lot here — "the goat" in a sports headline usually means "greatest of all time" (a compliment), while "made the goat" (verb sense) means blamed for a failure.
Common pairings
scapegoat
GOAT status
herd of goats
Word Forms
goated past tense, goats plural, goats singular
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The _____ grazed on the hillside behind the farmhouse.
Etymology
From Old English gat, an ancient Germanic word for the animal; the "lecherous man" sense comes from the old expression "horny as a goat."