What does goggled mean?
Goggled is the past tense and past participle of goggle, a vivid verb for looking or staring with the eyes opened extremely wide. The effect is often comic or emphatic: a person goggles in surprise, astonishment, fascination, or disbelief, and “goggled” records that brief reaction in narrative writing. It can also serve before a noun, especially in the familiar phrase “goggled eyes,” describing eyes that appear to bulge or stand out. The expression is informal compared with “stared in amazement,” but it adds a strongly visual, slightly exaggerated quality and suits children’s stories, reporting, and casual description. It is not normally used for a prolonged, neutral look; for that, “stared” or “watched” is more appropriate. Goggled is used in both British and American English and has the same broad meaning across the two varieties.
Looked or stared with the eyes opened unusually wide, especially in surprise, amazement, fascination, or disbelief.
"The audience goggled when the lights suddenly went out."
Usually describes a brief, visually noticeable reaction rather than prolonged observation.
Having eyes that are unusually wide-open or bulging, or forming a look characterized by such eyes.
"The cartoon character stared with goggled eyes."
Most often appears attributively before a noun, especially “eyes.”
Goggled captures the split second when disbelief makes your eyes bulge.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does goggled come from?
Goggled is the regular past-tense and past-participle form of goggle. The base word dates to Middle English and originally referred to opening or turning the eyes widely; later usage also developed the sense of staring with wide or protruding eyes. The exact origin of goggle is uncertain, so it cannot confidently be assigned to a definite source language.
Related word forms
How goggled is actually used
This is an informal, vivid expression that usually conveys a brief and visually noticeable reaction. The attributive form is especially common before the noun “eyes.”
Easily confused with goggled
Gargled means made a rattling sound in the throat, whereas goggled means looked with the eyes wide open.