What does goner mean?
Goner is an informal, chiefly North American noun for someone or something that seems certain to die, fail, or be ruined. It is especially common in sports reporting, where a team trailing badly or facing an insurmountable deficit may be called a goner, but it can also describe a person in danger or any project doomed to collapse. The word is blunt and often carries a grim or jocular edge rather than the neutral precision of a formal term. Its force comes from gone: a goner has, in effect, already been written off. Writers may use it for vivid prediction, but it can sound callous when applied to another person's suffering and is unsuitable for careful technical or formal prose. Understanding goner therefore involves both its straightforward sense of hopelessness and its distinctly informal, conversational register.
nounAn informal term for a person or thing that is certain or highly likely to die, fail, or be otherwise ruined.
- A person or thing that is certain or highly likely to die, fail, or be ruined.
"With the visitors three goals up and little time remaining, the home side was a goner."
"With the championship on the line and the visitors three goals up, the home team was a goner."
"Once the radio failed and the storm closed in, the expedition was a goner."
The standard plural of the informal noun.
"Several promising teams were declared goners before the tournament began."
Written off before the final whistle, a goner is someone the outcome has already claimed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does goner come from?
Goner was formed in English by adding the suffix -er to gone. The resulting noun exploits the sense of gone meaning lost, finished, or beyond recovery to denote a person or thing considered doomed. It belongs to the same word family as go and gone, both of which descend from Old English gān.
Related word forms
How goner is actually used
Informal, blunt, and often darkly humorous. It is especially common in American sports and commentary, where an apparently hopeless team or competitor may be described as a goner. Its casualness can make it sound callous when applied to a person's real suffering, so it is generally unsuitable for formal or sensitive contexts.