Goo

How to spell goo

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce goo

What does goo mean?

1. nounA soft, sticky, or messy semi-liquid substance.

Goo in a sentence

• The children tracked sticky goo across the kitchen floor.

• A layer of green goo had built up inside the old drain.

Where does goo come from?

Language of origin: Unknown

Goo is an American coinage that first appears in print in the early twentieth century, around 1900, as informal slang for a sticky, semi-liquid substance. Its origin is genuinely uncertain, but the most widely cited suggestion links it to burgoo, a word for a thick porridge or stew once eaten by sailors and later served at outdoor gatherings in the American South. On this account the front of burgoo was clipped away and the remaining sound was kept for any gluey mess. The word may also be simply imitative, an expressive blend of sounds like glue and gum that captures the idea of something soft and stretchy. Whatever the precise route, goo has stayed resolutely informal, and its short, doubled-o spelling mirrors the long oo vowel it represents, which is the main thing a writer needs to remember.

How the word is built

• goo (a single unanalysable root; no prefix or suffix)