Slang dictionary
G.O.A.T.
or GOAT or goat [ goht ] or [ jee-oh-ey-tee ]
What does聽G.O.A.T. mean?
Not many people can claim to be the聽G.O.A.T., but those who can are the Greatest Of All Time in their field. Most often, the acronym聽G.O.A.T.聽praises exceptional athletes but also musicians and other public figures.
On social media, it’s common to see the goat 馃悙 emoji in punning relation to the acronym.
Where does G.O.A.T. come from?
It turns out we can attribute聽the term聽G.O.A.T. to the actual聽G.O.A.T. himself: Muhammad Ali. In his time, the boxer was popularly nicknamed “The Greatest,” which his wife then turned into聽G.O.A.T. for publicity in the 1990s.
By 2000, the term had become popular enough in the rap scene that LL Cool J named his album聽G.O.A.T. – The Greatest Of All Time. We’ll give you that one, LL.
Since then, rappers and professional athletes have used the acronym for themselves just as often as their fans crown them with the title. The term has broadened, however, as shown by a 2004 Urban Dictionary entry defining聽goat as “tight,” or “exceptional.” An online sneaker marketplace also took GOAT as its name in 2015, presumably in reference to its sick kicks.
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Though its use has expanded, G.O.A.T. and its longer parent聽greatest of all time聽spike around professional sports championships when star players make headlines for winning their divisions. Champs like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Serena Williams are often referred to as the聽G.O.A.T. in their respective sports by fans and journalists alike.
Examples of G.O.A.T.
Who uses G.O.A.T.?
G.O.A.T. is a fun one, usually said and even written聽just like the simple word goat.
The popular phrase lends itself well to modification, like when Serena Williams’s husband took out a billboard calling her G.M.O.A.T. 蹿辞谤听Greatest Mother Of All Time when she played her first tournament after giving birth.
https://twitter.com/alexisohanian/status/968508476770041856
It also inspires a litany of animal puns, like Nicki Minaj’s lyrics in her 2018 single “Bed”: “Got me acting like you got a milli on you / You say I’m the GOAT, yeah, the billy on you.”
Today, it’s most common to see聽G.O.A.T. used in reference to athletes or, to a lesser degree, musicians, especially rappers such as Kanye West. You are likely to see a flood of fans calling their favorite player the聽G.O.A.T.聽on social media after a big win.
Rafael Nadal you are far, far, far too good at this sport! 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. G.O.A.T on clay!! 馃悙馃悙馃悙馃悙
— Tie Break Tens (@tiebreaktens)
Social-media users love to include the goat emoji 馃悙 alongside or in place of聽G.O.A.T.
Happy Birthday to our head coach Todd Sutherland, aka The G.O.A.T.馃悙
— East Chambers Runnin' Bucs (@ECRunninBucs)
20 years ago today, MJ had the 'flu game'. 馃悙
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport)
Anything that’s considered the best, especially hyperbolically, can be the聽G.O.A.T.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of G.O.A.T. like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of G.O.A.T. that will help our users expand their word mastery.