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Glite Dictionary
goose pimple

goose pimple

2 3.7
A small raised bump on the skin that appears when you feel cold, afraid, or have strong feelings
  • noun
  • /ɡus ˈpɪmpəl/
  • UK
translation icon : piel de gallina
  • When he told the scary story, I suddenly felt goose pimples on my arms.
  • get goose pimples
  • covered in goose pimples
  • give you goose pimples

Examples

  • Goose pimples raised on her spine; she shuddered.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • It gave me goose pimples all down my arms.

    The Dead (1987)

  • Oh, dude, I got goose pimples just walking up on it.

    A Minecraft Movie (2025)

  • I have goose pimples too.

    Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance (2020)

  • You said it so funny, you gave me goose pimples.

    Anna Lucasta (1958)

  • You give me goose pimples.

    Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

  • I looked at his bare chest and arms, covered with goose pimples.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Simply breathtaking, gave me goose pimples.

    Joy of Sex (1984)

  • I began to develop goose pimples and tremble secretly inside.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "She clutched the sheet about her breasts, her bottom still raised with goose pimples.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

goosebump
vsgoose pimple
  • US
38 3.9

A small raised spot on the skin when someone feels cold, scared, or excited

is the more common everyday term rather than the single-item form
goose bump
vsgoose pimple
  • US
3 3.0

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

is the single-word everyday form rather than the spaced variant
gooseflesh
vsgoose pimple
  • UK
1 7.8

Small bumps on your skin when you feel cold, afraid, or excited

is the neutral everyday term rather than the regional or formal variant
goose skin
vsgoose pimple
  • UK
1 4.1

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

is the standard compact term rather than the two-word descriptive form
goosebumps
vsgoose pimple
3.1

Small raised bumps on the skin that appear when you feel cold, afraid, or excited

is the singular or single-item form rather than the plural common usage
horripilation
vsgoose pimple
  • Archaic
9.9

Small bumps appear on the skin when hairs stand up from cold or fear

is the common nontechnical word rather than the medical term

Surface Forms

goose pimple singular
goose pimples plural

Morphology

goose + pimple

The element 'pimple' denotes a small raised spot, so a learner who knows both words can infer this MWE refers to a small bump on the skin, but 'pimple' usually implies an inflamed/blemish meaning that does not exactly match the physiological reflex behind goose pimples. The use of 'goose' is metaphorical (like 'goose bumps' or cross-linguistic equivalents such as 'chicken skin'), so the overall sense (raised hairs from cold/fear) is partly predictable but not fully derivable, making it only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Goose pimple comes from the look of a plucked goose. The small raised marks on the bird's skin looked like tiny pimples on a person's skin when they are cold or scared, so the phrase came to mean 'small raised bumps on the skin'.