Gloat
verb/noun
Definition
Feel or show great pleasure because of your own success or someone else’s failure
Context Alive
The two brothers had been competing for months over who could lose more weight. When the final weigh-in came, the older brother couldn’t help but gloat about his victory, waving his results in his younger brother’s face and reminding him constantly who had won.
Meanings
1 meaning 1 Feel or Show Smug Pleasure at Success or Others' Failure (Verb) — COMMON Common ▼
This meaning is about feeling proud and satisfied in an unpleasant, showy way — either because you won or because someone else lost. Imagine your rival at work gets rejected for a promotion you both wanted. Instead of staying quiet, you gloat about it, making little comments and smiling every time you see them. This is gloating — rubbing your success in someone’s face. Someone might gloat after winning a bet, or a sports fan could gloat when their team beats their friend’s favorite team. Or picture a student who gloats over getting the highest grade in class, loudly comparing scores with everyone around him. The word carries an ugly, unsportsmanlike feeling. ✏️ Gloating is always seen as negative and annoying. Nobody likes a person who gloats. Common phrases include “Don’t gloat!” and “There’s no need to gloat.” You’ll often hear “gloat over” — as in “gloat over someone’s misfortune” or “gloat over a victory.”
Vivid ExampleWhen her ex-boyfriend’s new relationship fell apart after just two weeks, she couldn’t resist gloating about it to her friends, laughing and saying she knew it would never last.
Examples from the Street
“He’s been gloating about his promotion all week — it’s getting really annoying.”
He’s been smugly bragging about his new position for days — it’s becoming unbearable
“Don’t gloat — nobody likes a sore winner.”
Don’t rub it in people’s faces — everyone dislikes someone who can’t be gracious in victory
“I could see her gloating when my presentation went badly.”
I noticed her taking pleasure in my failure when my talk fell apart
Common Patterns
gloat about/over (achievement/success) → show smug satisfaction about something you’ve done or won
don’t gloat → warning someone not to be a bad winner
can’t help gloating → unable to resist showing off about success
gloating smile/expression/look → a smug, self-satisfied facial expression
not to gloat, but… → pretending not to brag while actually bragging
gloat over (someone’s) failure/misfortune → take pleasure in another person’s problems
gloat when (something bad happens) → enjoy watching someone else suffer or fail
sit back and gloat → relax and enjoy watching others struggle
I’m not here to gloat → claiming you’re not enjoying someone’s misfortune (often unconvincingly)
Collocations
3 collocationsgloat over
take smug pleasure in someone else's failure
no time to gloat
there's no room for self-satisfaction now
gloat about a victory
boast smugly about winning
Example Sentences
12 examples
1
He’s been gloating about beating me at chess for three days now — I wish he’d just let it go
He’s been smugly bragging about defeating me at the board game for seventy-two hours — I wish he’d simply drop it.
2
Don’t gloat — you only won because I let you
Don’t be so smug about it — you only came first because I allowed it to happen.
3
She had this gloating smile on her face when she found out I didn’t get the job
She had this self-satisfied, smug expression when she discovered I’d been rejected for the position.
4
I know I shouldn’t gloat, but I told him this would happen and he didn’t listen
I know I shouldn’t rub it in, but I warned him this would occur and he ignored me.
5
His rivals were gloating over his public humiliation in the press
His competitors were taking pleasure in his embarrassing exposure in the newspapers.
6
Not to gloat, but I did predict this exact result six months ago
I don’t want to sound smug, but I did forecast this precise outcome half a year back.
7
I can’t help gloating a little bit — I worked so hard for this
I can’t resist feeling a bit smug about it — I put in so much effort to achieve this.
8
She just sat back and gloated while the rest of us panicked about the deadline
She simply relaxed and enjoyed our suffering while the rest of us stressed about the due date.
9
I’m not here to gloat — I genuinely want to help you fix this mess
I haven’t come to rub your face in it — I sincerely want to assist you in sorting out this disaster.
10
He couldn’t resist gloating when his ex-girlfriend’s new relationship fell apart
He couldn’t stop himself from taking pleasure in the news that his former partner’s new romance had collapsed.
Learner Examples
★
I always tell students not to gloat when they beat their classmates in vocabulary games — good sportsmanship matters even in the classroom
I always remind learners not to act smugly when they defeat their peers in word activities — being gracious in victory matters even during lessons.
★
When I finally mastered the present perfect, I couldn’t help gloating a little to my classmates who were still struggling
When I eventually conquered that tricky tense, I couldn’t resist feeling a bit smug around my fellow students who were still finding it difficult.
Phrasal Verbs & Idioms
1 items
Phrasal Verbsgloat over — feel smug satisfaction about something
He couldn't stop gloating over his victory in the chess match.
Synonyms & Antonyms
6 items
Synonymsbrag
boasting about success
revel in
enjoying someone else's failure
crow
expressing triumph proudly
rub it in
informal — reminding someone of their loss
Antonymsbe modest
not showing off
sympathize
feeling sorry for someone's loss