How to Use gaffe in a Sentence

gaffe

noun
  • He realized that he had committed an awful gaffe when he mispronounced her name.
  • Add this to the gaffes Biden has made in the past two weeks.
    — Melanie Eversley, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2019
  • But our pick for the worst Apple gaffe of the decade has to go to the iPhone 4.
    — Christopher Null, Wired, 24 Dec. 2019
  • 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
  • The gaffe hinted at how the next few hours would play out.
    — Zak Keefer, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025
  • 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
  • Which isn't to say these gaffes always work out for the best.
    — Aaron Traister, Redbook, 23 Apr. 2012
  • Trump won the election, and the era of Biden gaffes will come to an end at noon on Jan. 20.
    — Haisten Willis, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 25 Dec. 2024
  • That meant the Padres were still up when a gaffe in the sixth led to an Angels run.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2025
  • There were the two gaffes on the base paths by two players from third base.
    — Brody Miller, NOLA.com, 11 May 2018
  • But Muller's gaffe could leave them short a man for some time still.
    — SI.com, 19 Aug. 2017
  • Both gaffes opened the door for Arraez’s single to left to tie the game at 6-6.
    — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2025
  • Of course his still-very-new job on the team was not in any jeopardy over the non-gaffe.
    — Mark Lisanti, Vanities, 4 May 2018
  • There were a number of gaffes along the way too, as happens over the course of decades.
    — Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2019
  • And will there be any big gaffes that one side can weaponize against the other?
    — Heather Hendershot / Made By History, TIME, 27 June 2024
  • Still, days away from the Nov. 5 election, Democrats are pouncing on the gaffe.
    — Rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2024
  • In fact, the Royals scored all five of their runs because of gaffes by the White Sox.
    — Maria Torres, kansascity, 3 Mar. 2018
  • But, a base running gaffe bailed the Trojans out of that threat.
    — Lewis Bagley, Indianapolis Star, 8 June 2019
  • 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
  • For a show that claims to know Hollywood as well as this one, there are a number of all-too-convenient gaffes.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Every goaltender has those nightmare bounces, the gaffes that draw more eyes online than the brilliant saves.
    — Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • After deleting the comment, Drozd joked about the gaffe of speaking publicly.
    — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2026
  • This could illuminate the types of mistakes or gaffes that a therapist just out of the gate might make.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Video footage of the gaffes suggests otherwise.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 21 Jan. 2026
  • The Open Book author has previously poked fun at the tuna gaffe.
    — Erin Clements, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026

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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