Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An employee who runs errands in addition to performing regular duties.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A waffle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun informal A worker who runs errands; an errand boy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an employee whose duties include running errands

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration of go for, from that person's having to go for or after things.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From go + fer ("for").

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Examples

  • Sol Stern, a conservative commentator with The Manhatten Institute perhaps put it best when he said that Mr. Polakow-Suransky will be treated as a "gofer" by the mayor and Ms. Black.

    Gary Anderson: Cathleen Black: Education's Sarah Palin? Gary Anderson 2010

  • Young Ted Chapin, a production "gofer," kept a diary of rehearsals, Boston tryout and New York premiere, in 1971.

    Books on Musical Theater 2009

  • Mukasey could easily fire half of these "gofer" appointees and eliminate their jobs.

    Paul C. Light: It Ain't Over Mukasey 2008

  • I didn't lift anything, I just was the "gofer" for little stuff.

    katress Diary Entry katress 2006

  • A simple translation for transportation is "gofer".

    unclebob Diary Entry unclebob 2003

  • I worked as their "gofer," there to fetch their coffee, their bagels, their morning fare, their fuzzy bunny slippers.

    Y.P.R.: Those Were the Salad Days, although These Are Good, Too 2002

  • "They are getting some 'gofer' out there to jump on these things, and then it's, 'Hasta la vista, baby,'" Cooper said.

    canada.com Top Stories 2010

  • Instead of the stereotypical "gofer" work, such as photocopying, my job consisted of tasks such as thinking of questions for interviews, proof-reading Marci's blog posts, and keeping an eye on her dog, Sinatra, during phone interviews.

    The Blog Herald 2009

  • David says that someone is leaving their job, so they need to look for someone to fill the "gofer" job.

    AllYourTV.com: Your Complete Guide To All Things TV 2009

  • Instead of the stereotypical "gofer" work, such as photocopying, my job consisted of tasks such as thinking of questions for interviews, proof-reading Marci's blog posts, and keeping an eye on her dog, Sinatra, during phone interviews.

    The Blog Herald 2009

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