Meaning & use
goffer
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Meanings
verbtransitivespecialist
To press small ridges or pleats into fabric, lace, or paper edges using a heated iron.
Grammar: Takes an object: goffer a frill.
Patterns
- goffer a frill
- goffer the edge of something
The laundress goffered the collars with a hot iron.
Costume makers goffer lace to give it a fluted edge.
She goffered the sleeves for the stage costume.
nouncountablespecialist
A small pleat or ridge made in fabric by pressing it.
Grammar: Count noun, often used in the plural.
The collar was edged with tiny goffers.
The goffer gave the ruff its crisp shape.
nouncountablespecialistold-fashioned
The iron tool used to press pleats into fabric.
Grammar: Sometimes called a goffering iron.
The museum displays a Victorian goffer.
She heated the goffer on the stove.
Word forms
| third person singular | goffers |
|---|---|
| past tense | goffered |
| past participle | goffered |
| -ing form | goffering |
Common combinations
- goffered edge
- The goffered edge of the pie looked fancy.
- goffer a ruff
- They used irons to goffer a ruff.
- goffering iron
- A goffering iron sat on the hob.
- goffered frill
- The dress had a goffered frill.
Synonyms and how they differ
- crimp
- Crimp means pinch into small folds and is more common, used for hair as well as fabric.
- flute
- Flute means to make grooves, and can be used for columns and pastry as well.
- pleat
- Pleat means fold cloth into creases, whereas goffer implies heat pressing into small ridges.
- ruffle
- Ruffle is to gather fabric into a frill, a softer effect than goffering.
Opposites
Word family
- goffering noun
- the act or result of pressing into ridges
- goffered adjective
- decorated with small pleats
- gaufer verb
- an older spelling of the word
Commonly confused: goffer or gopher?
goffer vs gopher
A gopher is a burrowing rodent, unrelated to the word goffer despite sounding similar.
Practice
The costume maker used a hot iron to ____ the lace into tiny ridges.
Choose one answer.
Goffer means to press small ridges into fabric. Gather means to pull into folds without pressing, and grind and gauge do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “goffer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.