"oof" definition, meaning, and origin

Interjection

A sound mimicking the loss of air, as if someone's solar plexus had just been struck.
- Whap, Biff, Ooooof, Sock, Pow, Zok! Batman is back. Gotham City is again leaving its law and order in the hands of a man who wears plastic underpants over his tights. - 1989 June 5, The Canberra Times, Australia Captial...
Synonym of ouch (“expressing sympathy at another's pain, shock at a high price, etc.”).
- "Oof, you just lost a lot of progress. That's a real frustration, a real punch in the gut." - 2017, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy:
- Oof. Well, what are the parameters with this question? Am I going to die? Is the world going to end? What’s… - 2022 September 22, Vinepair Staff, “The Cocktail College Podcast: How to Make the Perfect El Diablo”, in The...
Synonyms: ouch

Onomatopoeic, compare Dutch oef and German uff.

A sound made in pain, as when expelling air after being struck.
- The soldier on the ground clutched his head and then his stomach and gave an "oof" of pain. - 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 33:
Something cringeworthy, or which arouses disappointment; often used in conjunction with the qualifier big.
- That is a mega oof.
- Fans were quick to express their disappointment at the removal of what has now become an iconic sound in the gaming space. The audio is trending on Twitter under #SaveTheOOF and Big Oof. - 2022 July 27, Eleni Thomas,...
- That actually hits me home because I used to drink tequila sunrises when I first started drinking. So that’s an oof. - 2022 September 22, Vinepair Staff, “The Cocktail College Podcast: How to Make the Perfect El...

Money.
- Burlington Bertie's the latest young jay He rents a swell flat somewhere Kensington way He spends the good oof that his pater has made Along with the Brandy and Soda Brigade. - 1900, Harry B. Norris, “Burlington Bertie”:
- What's he after? Oof—oof—oof, that's what he's after. He's for his own pocket, he's for being boss of all the woolly West. He's after keeping us poor and making himself rich. - 1911–1912, published 1916, Gilbert Parker,...
- Chuffy: It's on a knife edge at the moment, Bertie. If he can get planning permission, old Stoker's going to take this heap off my hands in return for vast amounts of oof. - 1991 May 12, “Kidnapped!”, in Jeeves and...
Synonyms: ackers bees and honey blunt bones brass bread bread and honey Bugs Bunny cake cheddar cheese ching clams coin cream currency dinero dosh dough feds fedi finances flizz flow

Clipping of ooftish.