Download the app
educalingo
Search

Meaning of "MacGuffin" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF MACGUFFIN

MacGuffin  [məˈɡʌfɪn] play
facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsapp

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF MACGUFFIN

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Macguffin is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES MACGUFFIN MEAN IN ENGLISH?

MacGuffin

In fiction, a MacGuffin is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation. The specific nature of a MacGuffin is typically unimportant to the overall plot. The most common type of MacGuffin is an object, place or person; other types include money, victory, glory, survival, power, love, or other things unexplained. The MacGuffin technique is common in films, especially thrillers. Usually the MacGuffin is the central focus of the film in the first act, and thereafter declines in importance. It may re-appear at the climax of the story, but sometimes is actually forgotten by the end of the story. Multiple MacGuffins are sometimes derisively identified as plot coupons.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH MACGUFFIN


bluefin
ˈbluːˌfɪn
bowfin
ˈbəʊˌfɪn
coffin
ˈkɒfɪn
cuffin
ˈkʌfɪn
dauphin
ˈdɔːfɪn
delphin
ˈdɛlfɪn
dolphin
ˈdɒlfɪn
elfin
ˈɛlfɪn
fin
fɪn
Finn
ˈfɪn
griffin
ˈɡrɪfɪn
humgruffin
hʌmˈɡrʌfɪn
McGuffin
məˈɡʌfɪn
muffin
ˈmʌfɪn
paraffin
ˈpærəfɪn
puffin
ˈpʌfɪn
ragamuffin
ˈræɡəˌmʌfɪn
redfin
ˈrɛdˌfɪn
serafin
ˈserəfɪn
tiffin
ˈtɪfɪn

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE MACGUFFIN

Macedonian
macer
maceral
maceranduba
macerate
macerater
maceration
macerative
macerator
Macgillicuddy´s Reeks
MacGregor
Mach
Mach number
Machado
machair
machairodont
machan
Machaut
mache
Machel

WORDS THAT END LIKE MACGUFFIN

a nail in one´s coffin
anal fin
Baffin
biffin
blackfin
boffin
caudal fin
chromaffin
cycloparaffin
dorsal fin
Ecofin
English muffin
liquid paraffin
nitroparaffin
olefin
perfin
polyolefin
threadfin
uncoffin
yellowfin

Synonyms and antonyms of MacGuffin in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «MacGuffin» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF MACGUFFIN

Find out the translation of MacGuffin to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of MacGuffin from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «MacGuffin» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

MacGuffin
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

MacGuffin
570 millions of speakers

English

MacGuffin
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

MacGuffin
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

MacGuffin
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

Макгаффин
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

MacGuffin
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

MacGuffin
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

MacGuffin
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

MacGuffin
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

MacGuffin
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

MacGuffin
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

MacGuffin
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

MacGuffin
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

MacGuffin
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

சதித் திட்ட கருவி
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

मॅकफिन
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

MacGuffin
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

MacGuffin
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

MacGuffin
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

Макгаффін
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

MacGuffin
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

MacGuffin
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

MacGuffin
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

MacGuffin
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

MacGuffin
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of MacGuffin

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «MACGUFFIN»

The term «MacGuffin» is quite widely used and occupies the 51.320 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
76
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «MacGuffin» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of MacGuffin
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «MacGuffin».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «MACGUFFIN» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «MacGuffin» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «MacGuffin» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about MacGuffin

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «MACGUFFIN»

Discover the use of MacGuffin in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to MacGuffin and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The MacGuffin
Deeply humorous and engaging, The MacGuffin is a striking exploration of obsession and the imaginative story of a man struggling against his own frailty to regain control of his life.
Stanley Elkin, 2010
2
My Macguffin: Business As a Spiritual Practice
Touching, profound, raw, and raucous, My MacGuffin "enables the enablers" to lift the world of commerce to its highest ideal: an indispensable resource for improving your practice and your clientele.
Jayden Bliss, Michael Nunes Burgess, 2012
3
The Sublime Object of Ideology
To mention the final example: the famous MacGuffin, the Hitch- cockian object, the pure pretext whose sole role is to set the story in motion but which is in itself ' nothing at all' — the only significance oi the MacGuffin lies in the fact that it has ...
Slavoj Žižek, 1989
4
A Companion to Alfred Hitchcock
What the MacGuffin really is doesn't matter, though the entire narrative turns on the pursuit of it. Its appearance of rich content functions as a lure for characters within the narrative and for spectators outside it. This lure acts as an engine for ...
Thomas Leitch, Leland Poague, 2011
5
Transcendental Heidegger
Being as a "MacGuffin" In his famous interviews with Francois Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock insisted that while many of his thrillers concerned some piece of information or object around which swirled all the intrigue and energy of the film, it didn't ...
Steven Galt Crowell, Jeff Malpas, 2007
6
Recognition: The Poetics of Narrative : Interdisciplinary ...
Hitchcock's meditations on the idea of the "MacGuffin" as a plot pretext have inevitably furthered this kind of speculation. Hitchcock borrowed the parable of the MacGuffin from sometime-screenwriter Angus MacPhail: "What's a MacGuffin ?
Philip F. Kennedy, Marilyn Lawrence, 2009
7
Dictionary of Film Terms: The Aesthetic Companion to Film Art
MacGuffin (McGuffin) A term whose origin is attributed to Alfred Hitchcock and one used to describe a plotting device for setting a story into motion. The term is frequently applied to that object or person in a mystery film that at the beginning of ...
Frank Eugene Beaver, 2006
8
Hitchcock's Motifs
To illustrate this last point, he says that the uranium MacGuffin in Notorious had troubled the producer (Selznick), so he had offered to replace it with industrial diamonds (). (I am not concerned with the accuracy of this story, which Leonard ...
Michael Walker, 2005
9
Atomic Bomb Cinema: The Apocalyptic Imagination on Film
Spoto calls it "Hitchcock's most famous MacGuffin: the uranium in the wine bottles ."23 Hitchcock himself introduced the term MacGuffin, a plot device that moves the narrative along by sweeping the characters and the film's spectators into ...
Jerome F. Shapiro, 2002
10
Hitchcock
F.T. Isn't the MacGuffin the pretext for the plot? A.H. Well, it's the device, the gimmick, if you will, or the papers the spies are after. I'll tell you about it. Most of Kipling's stories, as you know, were set in India, and they dealt with the fighting ...
Alfred Hitchcock, 1985

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «MACGUFFIN»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term MacGuffin is used in the context of the following news items.
1
In Praise of Ant-Man's Shameless Avengers Tie-in -- Vulture
Scott successfully steals the MacGuffin and makes his escape, after which a humiliated Sam radios back to HQ and tells whomever's on the line ... «Vulture, Jul 15»
2
Gasp: 'Ballers' Actually Got Good, Kind Of (TV Review) - Glide …
... tabloid fallout, but the fact it's not happening to a character, but a plot macguffin, makes it even more difficult to muster the ability to give a shit. «Glide Magazine, Jul 15»
3
Reporters' Notebook - City & Region - The Buffalo News
... in a number of literary journals and magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post, Hayden's Ferry Review, Rosebud and the MacGuffin. «Buffalo News, Jul 15»
4
Demythify: Top 10 DC You Titles! With A Batman vs, Superman …
How they charge their batteries, eat, etc. remain big questions despite the ring-charging MacGuffin in the last issue. A young Krona, destined to ... «Inside Pulse, Jul 15»
5
Don't Sign the Lease Just Yet | PopMatters
All in all, it's essentially a repetitive MacGuffin that undermines the believability of the story. Going back to the structure of the work, Pope ... «PopMatters, Jul 15»
6
Once Upon A Time Meet Merida Reaction | moviepilot.com
Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin, ... «moviepilot.com, Jul 15»
7
On the Merits of Marvel's 'Ant-Man': A Review
The plot is your basic, run-of-the-mill superhero fare: The villain has a MacGuffin that he will soon unleash on the world, the good guys want to ... «WordandFilm.com, Jul 15»
8
Robert Cushman: Robert Lepage's autobiographical 887 is a …
The show's MacGuffin is Lepage's inability to memorize a poem; and yet there he is, right before us, word-perfect in a solo script, much of which ... «National Post, Jul 15»
9
These devs swear to stop selling their game when enough players die
Here's how it works: in every match of The Flock, 3-5 players compete to grab a MacGuffin and become the Carrier, at which point everyone ... «Gamasutra, Jul 15»
10
HOW TO PITCH A SEQUEL AND GO VIRAL WITH IT
Have a Biblical macguffin like the Book of Job or Eden. Throw in College cults, Nazis, snakes /spiders/ sharks /action – adventure /archaeology ... «MovieViral, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Macguffin [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/macguffin>. Oct 2026 ».
Download the educalingo app
en
English dictionary
Discover all that is hidden in the words on
index
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z