Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gofer

/ˈɡoʊfɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.69 in modern English

Syllables: gofer
IPA: /ˈɡoʊfɚ/

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A worker who runs errands; an errand boy.

Informal

Example Sentences

"They were learning to do what in all my years in the music business I never saw — which was women running a record company, women producing concerts, women learning to be engineers, women moving into this absolutely all-male enclave. You never saw a woman in any of those positions, in any of that work except as secretaries and "go-fers"."
"More and more people agreed to help with the mailings, the hand-distribution of flyers, and telephonings. Others agreed to be gofers and fetchers."

Etymology

From go + fer (pronunciation spelling of for), as in “go for coffee” or “go for that document” etc. Possibly also a pun on the rodent gopher, animals known for both their vast tunneling and their hoarding activities.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɡoʊfɚ/

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

gofers (plural) go-fer (alternative) gopher (alternative)

Synonyms

dogsbody

Homonyms

gopher

Questions

How do you pronounce gofer?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡoʊfɚ/.
What does gofer mean?: A worker who runs errands; an errand boy.
Where does gofer come from?: From go + fer (pronunciation spelling of for), as in “go for coffee” or “go for that document” etc. Possibly also a pun on the rodent gopher, animals known for both their vast tunneling and their hoarding activities.

How to pronounce gofer

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “gofer”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɡoʊfɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “gofer”.
Repeat and practice — Say “gofer” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.