The AI-powered English dictionary
plural gooks
(slang, vulgar, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of (South) East Asian descent; originally a native of the Philippines, but now especially:
(US, derogatory) A Korean person (especially during the Korean War). quotations examples
A few days later he had a 'damned good party' at NORMASH, drinking brandy, and he then 'beat up a Gook [Korean] village.' This resulted in an 'awful hangover all day', […] Later, he walked back to his unit, alone at three o'clock in the morning, having 'swiped a Gook torch.'
2002, Colin Baker, Wild Goose: The Life and Death of Hugh Van Oppen, pages 59–60
(US, derogatory) A Vietnamese insurgent in the Vietnam War, particularly a member of the Vietcong. quotations examples
Of course, I've got so many confirmed kills I lost count. Nobody believes me because the gooks drag off their dead.
1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, page 57
(dated, derogatory) A foreigner (to the speaker), especially the (enemy) natives of a place the speaker's military is at war with or in. quotations
"Haiti is a country with a history, […] " "but how about the Marines, and the gendarmerie; aren't they on the job?" […] "You know darn well a civilian can't get away with handling a gook like a Marine can; […] "
1924 September 30, John Webb, “Henri II”, in Adventure, volume 48, number 6, page 101
In scenes based on the Marines' slaughter of several hundred Nicaraguan rebels at the Battle of Ocotal in July 1927, the two heroes, who are rivals for the hand of a vivacious nurse (Lila Lee), repeatedly attack the "gooks" in support of their comrades on the ground.
1999, M. Paul Holsinger, War and American Popular Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, Greenwood Publishing Group, page 204
(Rhodesia, derogatory) A black insurgent in the Rhodesian Bush War. quotations examples
"But shit, man, don't we do a fucking good job of it. Jesus, we slew long gooks this last trip," quipped Mark.
1997, Dick Gledhill, One Commando: Rhodesia's Last Years & the Guerilla War it Never Lost, page 55
countable and uncountable, plural gooks
(informal) Grime or mud. quotations examples
"Roost No More" was a yellow gook that Joe's people would spread around, for a fee, on the ledges of houses and commercial buildings plagued by pigeons.
1983, Len O'Connor, A Reporter in Sweet Chicago, page 351
(slang) A dull or hapless person. quotations
the poor old gook was spitting blood
1949, P.G. Wodehouse, The Mating Season