From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgoblingob‧lin /ˈɡɒblɪn $ ˈɡɑːb-/ noun [countable] RFa small ugly creature in children’s stories that likes to trick people
Examples from the Corpus
goblin• This celebration of ghosts and goblins has now become a family hobby for the Flads.• They paint witches and goblins in black and in primary colors.• Leading the way were a few guys who had to banish mental goblins, including: Will Cunnane.• And the moment he did so, the second goblin jumped into his pocket, and there stayed.• In sleep he looked delicate, more elf than goblin, almost beautiful.• No sooner had the goblins left them than Martin and Mihal stood still, pierced to the heart with a dreadful guilt.• Tengu, the wicked long-nosed trickster goblin.Origin goblin (1300-1400) Old French gobelin, from Medieval Latin gobelinus, perhaps from Greek kobalos “bad man” 