Word.ws English Dictionary

gobsmacked

UK/ˈɡɒb.smækt/

gobsmacked adjective: flabbergasted, astounded, speechless, overawed.

Adjective

gobsmacked (comparative more gobsmacked, superlative most gobsmacked)

  1. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang) Flabbergasted, astounded, speechless, overawed.
    • That wad mack im about yam sick, so ower Ilkla' moor bar-tat wish un best of luck at Ilkley Station, and when he landed back Martha wad be fare gob smacked at the yarns he wad tell 'er about Yorkshire clod-hoppers.1925 December, A Yorkshire Clod-Hopper, “From a Yorkshire Clod-Hopper”, in The Bee-keepers' Record, volumes 49-53, J. Herrod-Hempsall, retrieved 08 Jun 2018, page 175
    • We were as appalled and stunned and confused and gobsmacked (punched on the mouth) as anyone else.1989 August 7, Glenn Frankel, “Salman Rushdie's Life on the Run”, in Los Angeles Times

gobsmacked meaning in Tamil

gobsmacked in Tamil

திடுக்கிடுதல்

Examples of gobsmacked in a sentence

  • "I guess the word would be gobsmacked," Barclay said, of his reaction.2008 June 16, Caroline Mallan, “Linwood Barclay novel wins a plug on key UK book list”, in Toronto Star, Canada, page A2:
  • “We were absolutely gobsmacked,” Ryan said.2023 August 10, Matthew Cantor, “‘Paul McCartney winked right at me’: the fans who buy nosebleed seats – and get whisked to the front”, in...

Forms of gobsmacked

comparativemore gobsmacked
superlativemost gobsmacked

Origin of gobsmacked

As if smacked (“hit”) in the gob (“mouth (Irish / Scottish gaelic)”). Attested since 1959, from Northern English dialect, particularly Liverpool, popularized via television.

Questions about gobsmacked

What does gobsmacked mean?
Gobsmacked means flabbergasted, astounded, speechless, overawed.
What is gobsmacked in Tamil?
Gobsmacked in Tamil is திடுக்கிடுதல். See Gobsmacked meaning in Tamil.
How do you use gobsmacked in a sentence?
"I guess the word would be gobsmacked," Barclay said, of his reaction.
What part of speech is gobsmacked?
Gobsmacked is an adjective.
How do you pronounce gobsmacked?
Gobsmacked is pronounced /ˈɡɒb.smækt/ (UK).

Words near gobsmacked in the dictionary

  1. gobshell
  2. gobshells
  3. gobshite
  4. gobshites
  5. gobsmack
  6. gobsmacked
  7. gobsmacker
  8. gobsmackers
  9. gobsmacking
  10. gobsmackingly
  11. gobsmacks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gobsmacked (page history and authors); gobsmacked (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: EN-AU ck1 gobsmacked.ogg.

Cite this entry: “gobsmacked.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gobsmacked. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.