Skip to main content
to goose

to goose

2 8.3
To encourage someone to act more quickly or with more effort
  • verb
  • /ɡus/
  • Informal
translation icon : impulsar
  • If the economy needs to be goosed every once in a while, shouldn't the government support peacetime industries along the lines of education, healthcare, daycare, or mass transit?
  • goose the economy
  • goose interest

That that really gooses the energy because he's he's he's hard to keep up with.

Examples

  • No wonder Grace Harris is goosed right into action.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Goose them a little.

  • Goose them.

  • To motivate the team, the coach goosed them with a pep talk before the big game.

  • The manager decided to goose productivity by implementing a new incentive program for the employees.

  • She goosed the project forward by introducing innovative ideas that sparked everyone's interest.

Idioms

To destroy a steady source of income by greedy short-term choices

loose as a goose
  • Informal
1 8.4

Being very relaxed and not worried, acting carefree and playful

Make someone lose their chance of success

9.9

Doing something risky and foolish that will likely make you lose money or get into trouble

In serious trouble and likely to be punished or ruined

A saying that you should not expect a wild person or thing to behave calmly

Phrasal Verbs

To march with straight legs swung high in military parades

Compounds

wild-goose chase
  • Informal
22 6.6

A hopeless search for something that does not exist

golden goose
  • Informal
9 4.4

A thing or business that keeps making a lot of money

Mother Goose
  • Literature
3 4.5

An imaginary old woman who writes nursery rhymes and fairy tales

3 3.0

A small raised spot on your skin when you feel cold, scared, or excited

3 3.8

Soft fine feathers from under a goose used as warm filling

3 2.7

A large wild goose from North America with a black head and neck and white cheeks

goose egg
  • Informal
3 8.1

A score or total of zero

2 6.5

A food made from a goose's liver and often served as a rich spread

2 3.7

A small raised bump on the skin that appears when you feel cold, afraid, or have strong feelings

1 3.2

A large wild goose with a black head and white cheek patches that honks loudly and is often near lakes

1 2.8

A white goose with black wing tips found in North America

1 7.5

Fat from geese that people use in cooking and rub on the skin as a simple medicine

1 4.1

Small raised bumps on the skin when you are cold or scared

7.2

A wild goose from North America with dark feathers in summer and white in winter

9.3

A small dark goose that breeds in the far north and flies south for winter

8.8

A small dark goose that breeds in the Arctic and flies south for the winter

A large farm goose from China with a prominent knob on its bill

A small dark bird that lives on northern coasts and eats sea plants

A small goose that breeds in the far north and flies south in winter

goose barnacle
  • Specialized
9.5

A small sea animal with a shell on a stalk that sticks to ships and driftwood

goose grass
  • Specialized
7.9

A coarse annual grass often found as a weed in fields and gardens

An annual plant with sticky, prickly stems that cling to clothes

A low-growing plant that grows back each year with silvery undersides on its leaves

9.8

A wild plum tree from eastern and central North America that makes red-orange fruit with yellow flesh

A march with straight legs swung high used in military parades

A soldier who marches with straight legs and high steps

A low plant that lives many years and people often use as ground cover

5.6

A large gray wild goose common in Europe and western Asia

9.3

A large white seabird with black-tipped wings that dives for fish

9.9

A large white sea bird with black wing tips that dives for fish

How Forceful

to goose
  • Informal
2 8.3
to prod
8 3.6
to nudge
33 3.8
to encourage
2.3

Surface Forms

goose infinitive
goosed past
goosed past participle
goosing present participle
gooses third person singular

Etymology

The verb goose meaning 'to prompt' grew from the same idea as the pinch — a quick, sharp action that makes someone move — so to goose someone is to give a sudden push or nudge to get them acting. That's why we say someone was 'goosed' into doing something.