Phrase guide

good egg

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɡʊd ɛɡ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A good person, someone to be trusted; a friend.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, US, idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: bad egg

2

noun

Meaning 2

(old-fashioned slang) a good person

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: bad egg

Broader terms: good person

History

Etymology

Probably a humorous antonym of bad egg (“someone whose behaviour is reprehensible or irresponsible; a rogue”). The earliest known usage of the phrase was by Rudyard Kipling in his 1904 book "Traffics & Discoveries": "'Good egg!' quoth Moorshed, and brought his hand down on the wide shoulders with the smack of a beaver's tail."