How to Use gaffe in a Sentence

gaffe

noun
  • He realized that he had committed an awful gaffe when he mispronounced her name.
  • Hardcore cycling fans know this wasn’t the most egregious of gaffes, especially considering it was made during the heat of a live bike race.
    James Jung, Outside Online, 18 July 2024
  • But Louisville had a key gaffe at each end of the floor in the final minute.
    Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 10 Mar. 2022
  • The Wired interview isn’t the first gaffe Grant has made in the press this week.
    Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 17 Mar. 2023
  • Johnson and Smith were amused by the gaffe, but O’Neal was not.
    Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2024
  • Biden critics called it a gaffe, but the statement wasn’t a slip of the tongue.
    Doyle McManuswashington Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2022
  • The gaffe says quite a bit about the fascists in Donald Trump’s rolodex.
    Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, The New Republic, 23 Oct. 2023
  • And will there be any big gaffes that one side can weaponize against the other?
    Heather Hendershot / Made By History, TIME, 27 June 2024
  • The gaffe didn't change the outcome of the game but Chryst was asked about the issue afterward.
    Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 29 Nov. 2021
  • Biden is prone to make gaffes and verbal slips; so is Trump.
    Chuck Todd, NBC News, 1 May 2023
  • The Astros got a reprieve with a huge Twins fielding gaffe in the ninth.
    Matt Young, Houston Chronicle, 29 Sep. 2020
  • William has not been the only high-profile figure to make such a gaffe since the start of the war in Ukraine.
    Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022
  • Though Wilson's gaffe will be the defining highlight of this game, the seeds of the upset were sown in the first half.
    Jace Evans, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2020
  • Not many Americans noticed the gaffe, but the British press did.
    John Wilkens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2022
  • The gaffe led to three Pirates crossing the plate when no Mets player went to retrieve the ball.
    Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 21 July 2021
  • Watch Lee's gaffe above, and see the full list of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival award winners here.
    Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 17 July 2021
  • The 49ers have been high on Luter, minus his Super Bowl punt gaffe.
    Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
  • The gaffe left the Pioneers with a heartbreaking 24-23 loss.
    Scooby Axson, USA TODAY, 18 Oct. 2021
  • Harper saw the ball on the ground and sprinted to the plate to take advantage of the defensive gaffe.
    Bobby Nightengale, The Enquirer, 15 Aug. 2021
  • Berti atoned for his gaffe by leading off the seventh with a homer to center off Suter.
    Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2021
  • Of course, Wheel of Fortune fans couldn't help but poke fun at Pat's minor gaffe.
    Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 23 Feb. 2021
  • Brady wasn’t keen to answer questions about his gaffe a year ago.
    Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 23 Oct. 2021
  • His most glaring gaffe Sunday came on the opening drive of the second half.
    Mark Craig, Star Tribune, 8 Nov. 2020
  • That flurry of scores was due in part to a gaffe by the Giants, who allowed a kickoff to land inside the 5-yard line.
    Brad Biggs, chicagotribune.com, 3 Jan. 2022
  • But Marshall atoned for his gaffe with an interception in the end zone to seal it for CM.
    BostonGlobe.com, 17 Apr. 2021
  • Perhaps these gaffes are a symptom of that power shift.
    Allison Morrow, CNN, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Poole’s bad body language Friday was just as big of a problem as his gaffes.
    Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Apr. 2023
  • This is not the first time there’s been a visual effects gaffe in Westeros.
    Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 7 Sep. 2022
  • Von der Leyen is the first woman to hold her role, and gender is seen as a factor in the diplomatic gaffe.
    Fortune, 8 Apr. 2021
  • Roberts said pitcher Clayton Kershaw spotted the gaffe and alerted the manager, who came to the mound and instructed Banda to throw to second base.
    Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gaffe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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