gomer
gomer is the alternative form of omer.
Noun (2)
gomer (plural gomers)
- A stupid, awkward, or oafish person.
- “Lordy Jeezus,” he said out loud. When did he become such a gomer?2005, Ralph Hardy, Lefty, iUniverse, published 2004, →ISBN, page 25
- Okay, you wanted to go to the Big Apple, but didn't want to sit in traffic or feel like a country hic, as you stare up at all 'dem big buildins'. Try Universal Studios Florida's version of New York, where you can stare at all the fake big buildings all you want and not feel like a total Gomer.2007, Brian McDaniel, Walt Disney World: The Full Report, iUniverse, published 2007, →ISBN, page 147
- Synonyms:
- idiot
- An inept trainee or serviceperson.
- These recruits were given such sobriquets as moron, idiot, or Gomer (after the television marine Gomer Pyle). There were constant comparisons between wayward recruits and animals or vegetables.1993, James Ebert, A Life in a Year: The American Infantryman in Vietnam, 1965-1972, page 34
- An opponent in combat or in training.
- We were almost invisible in our tiger stripes and ghillie suits. However, as the unit marched by, a lone gomer broke rank and ventured into the high, wet saw grass that concealed our position.2010, Brian Easton, Autobiography of a Werewolf Hunter, page 22
- A male animal (cattle, swine, horse mainly) used to arouse a female or detect, through her induced behavior, her hormonal availability for reproduction. Also called a teaser, a gomer may or may not be neutered, unless this element draws the line between those two synonyms. This particular meaning could also be the originator of the Gomer Pyle entry and not be a derivative.
Noun (3)
gomer (plural gomers)
- An undesirable hospital patient, or a patient who does not need medical care.
- That patient is a total GOMER. Turf him and let's get some lunch.
- Mumford (1970) noted that the terms ‘crock’, ‘gomer’, and ‘turkey’, were sometimes utilized by interns to designate different types of undesirable patients, and sometimes used synonymously. At Bayview, gomer was the preferred term1976, Stephen Charles Frankel, Emergency Medical Care in an Urban Area, page 118
- A dirty, senile, or otherwise unpleasant patient.
- It was 3:00 a.m. and an elderly homeless person had just been admitted to the emergency room. [...] One resident seemed tired and angry and said, "I can't believe we got beeped out of bed for this gomer."2001, David Thomasma, Thomasine Kimbrough Kushner, Ward Ethics: Dilemmas for Medical Students and Doctors in Training, page 163
- As a consequence of their loss of their personhood, the medical subculture has coined a lexicon of pejorative, cynical, and insulting names for demented patients, the most common of which is "gomer."2008, James Bernat, Ethical Issues in Neurology, page 359
- A patient who does not respond to medical treatment.
- The number of problems the two groups of patients presented to physicians was comparable; however, the pattern of their hospital stays contrasted dramatically. Gomer patients remained in the hospital longer than other patients, and had more consultations for diagnosis and therapy, and posed more...1985, Deborah B. Leiderman, Jean-Anne Grisso, “The gomer phenomenon”, in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, page 225
Meaning of omer
Noun (1)
omer (plural omers)
- A former small Hebrew unit of dry volume equal to about 2.3 L or 2.1 quarts.
- ...that Omer which was every mans daily portion of Manna, is computed to have bin more then might have well suffic'd the heartiest feeder thrice as many meals.1644, John Milton, Areopagitica
- Synonyms:
- issaron
- A vessel of one omer.
- The sheaf of barley offered on the second day of Passover.
Noun (2)
omer (uncountable)
Noun (1)
gomer (plural gomers)
- A conical chamber at the breech of the bore in heavy ordnance, especially in mortars.
- [Table] of dimensions of howitzers, stone and Gomer mortars, vol. 1. p. 250.1809, Louis de Tousard, American Artillerist's Companion, page 659
- All iron mortars now in use have gomer chambers and brass ones conical.1847, Augustus Frederick Oakes, The Young Artillery Officer's Assistant, page 15
Proper noun capitalized: Gomer
Gomer (countable and uncountable, plural Gomers)
Noun (4) capitalized: Gomer
Gomer (plural Gomers)
- Alternative form of GOMER.
Noun (5) capitalized: GOMER
GOMER (plural GOMERs)
- Alternative form of gomer.
Synonyms of gomer
Forms of gomer
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | gomers |
| alternative form | GOMER |
| alternative form | gomere |
| plural | Gomers |
| plural | GOMERs |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Gomers |
Origin of gomer
From Latin gomor in the Vulgate, from Ancient Greek γομόρ (gomór) in the Septuagint, from Hebrew עומר ('ómer, “sheaf; unit of dry measure”).
After Louis-Gabriel de Gomer, the French artillery officer who invented the design. Attested in English since the early nineteenth century.
Likely from the oafish fictional character Gomer Pyle from the 1960s American sitcom The Andy Griffith Show.
Questions about gomer
- What does gomer mean?
- Gomer means a conical chamber at the breech of the bore in heavy ordnance, especially in mortars.
- What is gomer the alternative form of?
- Gomer is the alternative form of omer.
- What part of speech is gomer?
- Gomer can be a noun or a proper noun.
- What is the plural of gomer?
- The plural of gomer is gomers.
Words near gomer in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gomer (page history and authors); Gomer (page history and authors); GOMER (page history and authors); omer (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-gomer.ogg.
Cite this entry: “gomer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gomer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.