gremlin

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gremlin

/ˈɡɹɛmlɪn/ UK
/ˈɡɹɛmlən/ US

Rhymes with -ɛmlɪn

Where it comes from

Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested:

* A variant of goblin.

* From Irish gruaimín (“gloomy little person”); or from Dutch gremmelen (“to soil, stain; to spoil”), or griemelen, grimmelen (“(obsolete) to abound, teem; to swarm”); but Oxford English Dictionary says there is little evidence for such derivations.

The word was popularized, especially in the United States, by the children’s novel The Gremlins (1943) by British author Roald Dahl (1916–1990), in which gremlins sabotage Royal Air Force aircraft in revenge for the destruction of their forest home to make way for an aircraft factory; the creatures later join forces with the British to fight the Nazis.

noun gremlins

obsolete A contemptible person.
Similar: absolute zero, also-ran, chopped liver, cipher, crumb, Joe Nobody, little guy, minnow, nebbish, nobody, no one, nothing
An imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined, for example, to damage or dismantle machinery. Like Abominable Snowmen, gremlins have never actually been seen; but nobody who works with electronic gear doubts the existence of these mischievous and elusive entities. There are too many malfunctions and failures that can have no other explanation.
broadly Any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby. We rechecked everything, and we suspect gremlins in the database.
Similar: bug, glitch, hitch
broadly, slang A young, inexperienced surfer or skateboarder, regarded as a nuisance.
Similar: grem, gremmie, gremmy, grommet
broadly A person regarded as similar to a fictional gremlin, in particular: mischievous, troublesome, short, or annoying. Rosa, the main character in Tears of Themis, is also very smart, justice-driven, and willing to help. Meanwhile, the Honkai: Star Rail Trailblazer […] can often be a sarcastic, pessimistic, lazy, self-serving, dumpster-diving gremlin. […] That’s absolutely gremlin behavior.

Translations

Every language

noun imaginary creature reputed to be mischievously inclined to damage or dismantle machinery

한국어	그렘린 geuremnin
日本語	グレムリン
中文	葛雷姆林 géléimǔlín
Ελληνικά	καλικάντζαρος kalikántzaros
Русский	гремлин gremlin

noun any mysterious, unknown source of mischief or trouble, or the problem created thereby

Deutsch	Fehlerteufel, Kobold

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MLA

"gremlin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gremlin. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

gremlin. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gremlin

Chicago

"gremlin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gremlin.

BibTeX

@misc{gremlin_2026,
  title = {gremlin},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gremlin},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}