Meaning & use
goggling
Last updated
“goggling” is a form of “goggle”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitiveinformal
Staring with wide, round eyes, usually because you are amazed, shocked or fascinated.
Grammar: Often followed by at: goggling at the view.
Patterns
- goggle at someone
- goggle at something
The children were goggling at the huge dinosaur skeleton.
He stood goggling at the price tag.
Tourists were goggling at the street performers.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformalrare
Looking up information online with a search engine, in the spelling often confused with googling.
Grammar: Informal misspelling use; the standard form is googling.
Patterns
- goggle something
I was goggling the answer when she walked in.
He is goggling restaurants for tonight.
Stop goggling and just ask someone.
Word forms
| base form | goggle |
|---|---|
| third person singular | goggles |
| past tense | goggled |
Common combinations
- goggling at
- The crowd was goggling at the fireworks.
- goggling in amazement
- She stood goggling in amazement at the huge cake.
- goggling eyes
- The puppet had comic goggling eyes.
- stop goggling
- Stop goggling and help me carry this.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gawking
- Gawking is very close, but it often suggests a rude or silly kind of staring.
- gaping
- Gaping stresses an open mouth as well as staring, while goggling stresses wide eyes.
- staring
- Staring is neutral and need not show surprise, whereas goggling suggests astonishment.
- ogling
- Ogling suggests staring at someone in a sexual or inappropriate way, which goggling does not.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: goggling or googling? goggling or gobbling?
goggling vs googling
Googling means searching on the internet, but goggling means staring in surprise.
goggling vs gobbling
Gobbling means eating fast, which is unrelated to staring.
Practice
The visitors stood ___ at the giant waterfall.
Choose one answer.
Goggling at means staring wide-eyed. Googling is searching online, and the other options do not mean staring.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “goggling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.