A goose is a large bird that has a long neck and webbed feet. Geese are often farmed for their meat.
2. uncountable noun
Goose is the meat from a goose that has been cooked.
...roast goose.
3. See also wild goose chase
4.
See cook someone's goose
5.
See the goose that lays the golden egg
6.
See what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
goose in British English1
(ɡuːs)
nounWord forms: pluralgeese (ɡiːs)
1.
any of various web-footed long-necked birds of the family Anatidae: order Anseriformes. They are typically larger and less aquatic than ducks and are gregarious and migratory
See also brent goose, barnacle goose, greylag, snow goose ▶ Related adjective: anserine
2.
the female of such a bird, as opposed to the male (gander)
3. informal
a silly person
4. Word forms: pluralgooses
a pressing iron with a long curving handle, used esp by tailors
5.
the flesh of the goose, used as food
6. all his or her geese are swans
7. cook someone's goose
8. kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
Word origin
Old English gōs; related to Old Norse gās, Old High German gans, Old Irish gēiss swan, Greek khēn, Sanskrit hainsas
goose in British English2
(ɡuːs) slang
verb
1. (transitive)
to prod (a person) playfully in the behind
nounWord forms: pluralgooses
2.
a playful prod in the behind
Word origin
C19: from goose1, probably from a comparison with the jabbing of a goose's bill
goose in American English
(gus)
nounWord forms: pluralgeese
1.
any of various long-necked, web-footed, wild or domestic waterfowl that are like ducks but larger; esp., a female as distinguished from a gander
2.
the flesh of a goose, used for food
3.
a silly person
4.
a tailor's pressing iron with a long handle curved somewhat like the neck of a goose
5. Slang
a sudden, playful prod in the backside
verb transitiveWord forms: goosed or ˈgoosing Slang
6. US
to prod suddenly and playfully in the backside so as to startle
7. US
to feed gasoline to (an engine) in irregular spurts
8. US
to prod, or stir, into action
Idioms:
cook someone's goose
Word origin
ME gose < OE gos, akin to Du & Ger gans, ON gas < IE *ĝhans > L anser; goose (sense 6) prob. for the fact that geese sometimes attack children from the rear
goose in Hospitality
(gus)
noun
(Hospitality (hotel): Food and drink, meat)
Goose is the flesh of a type of bird which is often kept on a farm for its meat, eaten as food.
The main dish that day was roast goose.
Goose can be cooked in the same way as other poultry.
If you like duck, you will probably enjoy the taste of goose.
More idioms containing
goose
a wild goose chase
someone wouldn't say boo to a goose
kill the goose that lays the golden egg
cook your goose
what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
Allow to cool completely if you are going to use it to stuff the neck of the goose or turkey.
The Sun (2016)
We do have to ask in London whether we are in danger of killing the golden goose.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
On the day, heat two tablespoons of hot turkey or goose fat in a roasting tin in a hot oven.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They dined on roast goose.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Goose and duck love this.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's wonderful with roast goose.
The Sun (2016)
To know we will have that and the support of the home crowd, it gives me goose bumps thinking about it.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
While the goose is cooking, prepare the stuffing, glaze and gravy.
The Sun (2016)
I still get goose bumps remembering the moment Crystal Serenity sailed into the sea ice.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
What questions should you ask about the way geese and turkey are produced?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They should beware of killing the golden goose.
The Sun (2008)
There are bare legs and goose bumps.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It was as if a giant snake were in combat with a large and voluble goose.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
You could buy buckets of goose fat for roast potatoes with the money saved by switching fowl.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
How do you imagine all that duck and goose skin was gleaned?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The portly princess had cooked her goose.
Veronica Buckley CHRISTINA QUEEN OF SWEDEN: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric (2004)
It is painful to watch a gifted writer being such a silly goose.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The ad men are killing their golden goose.
The Sun (2011)
The place should give you goose bumps.
The Sun (2015)
Season and serve with the goose and roast potatoes.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Much more of this and his goose will be cooked.
The Sun (2015)
Perhaps her golden goose has had its day then.
The Sun (2014)
My mum said it gave her goose bumps.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Cover the legs with the duck or goose fat and one glass of white wine until they are just submerged.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Witnesses identified the birds as geese.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
What's good for the goose comes to mind.
The Sun (2009)
But to contest doctrine, that is to grab the goose by the neck!
Christianity Today (2000)
After thirty years, just thinking about them still gives me goose flesh.
Paul Preston The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge
Ideal with turkey or goose.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Don't fancy turkey or goose?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I mean, how hard can you squeeze a golden goose before the bird calls a work stoppage?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He said: 'I had goose flesh with all the crowd chanting my name.
The Sun (2008)
Word lists with
goose
affection, related adjectives, male animals, baby and young animals
In other languages
goose
British English: goose /ɡuːs/ NOUN
A goose is a large bird similar to a duck, with a long neck.
Geese are often raised for their meat.
American English: goose
Arabic: إِوَزَّة
Brazilian Portuguese: ganso
Chinese: 鹅
Croatian: guska
Czech: husa
Danish: gås
Dutch: gans
European Spanish: oca
Finnish: hanhi
French: oie
German: Gans
Greek: χήνα
Italian: oca
Japanese: ガチョウ
Korean: 거위
Norwegian: gås
Polish: gęś
European Portuguese: ganso
Romanian: gâscă
Russian: гусь
Latin American Spanish: ganso
Swedish: gås
Thai: ห่าน
Turkish: kaz
Ukrainian: гусак
Vietnamese: con ngỗng
All related terms of 'goose'
goose egg
zero or a score of zero
bean goose
a grey goose , Anser fabalis
blue goose
a variety of the snow goose that has a bluish-grey body and white head and neck
brent goose
a small goose , Branta bernicla, that has a dark grey plumage and short neck and occurs in most northern coastal regions
ember goose
a large northern bird, Gavia immer, with a black-and-white chequered back and a black head and neck in summer : family Gaviidae ( divers )
goose bumps
If you get goose bumps , the hairs on your skin stand up so that it is covered with tiny bumps. You get goose bumps when you are cold , frightened , or excited .
goose chase
→ wild-goose chase
goose flesh
→ goose bumps
goose grass
cleavers
goose skin
the bumpy condition of the skin induced by cold, fear , etc, caused by contraction of the muscles at the base of the hair follicles with consequent erection of papillae : so called because of the resemblance to the skin of a freshly-plucked fowl
goose step
When soldiers goose-step , they lift their legs high and do not bend their knees as they march.
snow goose
a North American goose , Anser hyperboreus (or Chen hyperborea or A. caerulescens ), having a white plumage with black wing tips
wild goose
any undomesticated goose , esp. the greylag of Britain or the Canada goose
Canada goose
a large common greyish-brown North American goose , Branta canadensis, with a black neck and head and a white throat patch
golden goose
a goose in folklore that laid a golden egg a day until its greedy owner killed it in an attempt to get all the gold at once
goose grease
the melted fat of the goose , used in domestic medicine as an ointment
goose pimples
Goose pimples are the same as → goose bumps .
magpie goose
a large black-and-white goose , Anseranas semipalmata, of N Australia and adjacent islands
Mother Goose
the imaginary author of the collection of nursery rhymes published in 1781 in London as Mother Goose's Melody
solan (goose)
→ gannet
barnacle goose
a N European goose , Branta leucopsis , that has a black-and-white head and body and grey wings
bernicle goose
→ barnacle goose
colonial goose
an old-fashioned name for stuffed roast mutton
goose barnacle
any barnacle of the genus Lepas, living attached by a stalk to pieces of wood, having long feathery appendages ( cirri ) and flattened shells
Cape Barren goose
a greyish Australian goose , Cereopsis novaehollandiae , having a black bill with a greenish cere
cook your goose
to do something which gets you into trouble or spoils your chances of success
pink-footed goose
a Eurasian goose , Anser brachyrhynchus, having a reddish-brown head, pink legs, and a pink band on its black beak
wild-goose chase
If you are on a wild goose chase , you waste a lot of time searching for something that you have little chance of finding , because you have been given incorrect information.
a wild goose chase
a search for something that you have little chance of finding because you have been given wrong information
cook someone's goose
If you cook someone's goose , you prevent their plans from succeeding .
solan
any of several heavily built marine birds of the genus Morus (or Sula ), having a long stout bill and typically white plumage with dark markings : family Sulidae, order Pelecaniformes ( pelicans , cormorants , etc)
greylag
a large grey Eurasian goose , Anser anser : the ancestor of many domestic breeds of goose
nene
a rare black-and-grey short-winged Hawaiian goose , Branta sandvicensis, having partly webbed feet
would not say boo to a goose
is extremely timid or diffident
gooseflesh
the bumpy condition of the skin induced by cold , fear , etc, caused by contraction of the muscles at the base of the hair follicles with consequent erection of papillae : so called because of the resemblance to the skin of a freshly-plucked fowl
someone wouldn't say boo to a goose
said to mean that someone is very quiet , shy or nervous
kill the goose that lays the golden egg
to result in an important source of income being destroyed or seriously reduced
kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
to sacrifice future benefits for the sake of momentary present needs
what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
If you say what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander , you mean what is acceptable for one person in a particular situation should be acceptable for another person in a similar situation.
the goose that lays the golden egg to kill the goose that lays the golden egg
If someone kills the goose that lays the golden egg , they harm or destroy the person or thing that gives them their money, power, or advantage .