Gooch
noun
ABOUT THIS WORD
What does gooch mean?
Gooch is slang for the perineum, or the area between the anus and genitals, usually on a man.
It can also occasionally be found as slang for “excellent” or “awesome” in the Laguna Beach area of Southern California.
Where does gooch come from?
Gooch is a surname of Celtic origin, borne by the likes of the character Stephanie Gooch (Kate Micucci) on the 2000s sitcom Scrubs. The Gooch was also the nickname of a bully on the 1970–80s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes.
The origin of gooch as slang for the perineum—also known as the taint, grundle, or chode—isn’t exactly clear, but it’s found on Urban Dictionary by 2002 and shortly after appeared in Usenet groups about shaving. Gooch may riff on coochie, slang for “vagina.”
People were introduced to a very different gooch in 2005 when MTV’s Laguna Beach featured gooch as local slang for “really good.” This gooch is, apparently, may be based on a shortened version of the luxury brand Gucci, which itself has become a slang term for “excellent.”
How is gooch used in real life?
When it comes to referring to the perineum, you’ve got a lot of slang options. Gooch is just one of them.
15 yard penalty: Grab to the gooch pic.twitter.com/PnMdQNffCB
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 20, 2018
Clothing brand Gooch Apparel keeps the SoCal slang sense of gooch alive. They launched their line of surf and skate wear in Laguna Beach in 2013.
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.