noun
gomer
noun
1
A clumsy, foolish, or hopelessly inept person, especially a trainee or new recruit.
"The new recruit was a total gomer on his first day of drills."
"Nobody wanted the gomer on their team during the exercise."
2
In hospital slang, a patient seen as difficult, unpleasant, or unlikely to improve.
"The night-shift nurses joked darkly about another gomer coming through the ER."
How to Use Gomer
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMilitary and hospital slang for someone useless, clueless, or a burden.
When to use it
Very informal and often dismissive or mocking; avoid in professional writing.
Word Forms
gomers plural, gomers plural, gomers plural, Gomers plural
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The new recruit was a total _____ on his first day of drills.
Etymology
Origin debated; possibly linked to the artillery term "gomer" (a chamber shape in old cannons, named after French officer Louis-Gabriel de Gomer) or to the bumbling TV character Gomer Pyle.