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REFERENCE

golf

n. · v.
US //ˈɡɑɫf// UK //ɡˈɒlf// golf
  1. 1 the sport (n.)
    A2 Elementary Sport

    a game played on a large grass course where you hit a small ball into 9 or 18 holes using long metal sticks called clubs.

    an outdoor game in which a small hard ball is struck with various clubs into a series of small holes in the ground, the object being to use the fewest possible strokes.

    Example

    My grandfather spends every Saturday morning playing golf with his friends at the local club.

    Example

    The professional golf circuit requires players to maintain intense focus over four days of competition, often in unpredictable weather conditions.

  2. 2 the letter G (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Technical

    the word used for the letter 'G' when speaking over the radio to avoid mistakes.

    the standard code word for the letter G in the NATO phonetic alphabet, used to ensure clarity in voice communication.

    Example

    The pilot confirmed the tail number as Alpha Bravo Golf.

    Example

    To prevent any ambiguity during the emergency broadcast, the operator spelled out the coordinates using the phonetic alphabet, starting with Golf.

  3. 3 to shorten code (v.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Technical Computing

    to write computer code using as few characters as possible.

    to reduce the character count of a source code file to the absolute minimum, typically as a competitive exercise.

    Example

    The programmers tried to golf their solutions to see who could write the shortest script.

    Example

    While golfing a script can be a fun intellectual challenge, the resulting code is often nearly impossible for other developers to read or maintain.
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Origin

The word is first known in English from the 17th century as a borrowing from Middle Scots golf, gouff. Although the etymology is uncertain, the most likely origin is that it comes from the Middle Dutch colve, colf (“club”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kulbaz (“club”), related to German Kolben (“piston, rod”), Swedish kolv (“piston, rod”), Old English clopp (“rock; cliff”), English kelp.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Idioms1 entry
Related words

Last updated June 19, 2026