Appearance
Use device theme  
Dark theme
Light theme

What is a MacGuffin?

What is a MacGuffin? Here are some definitions.

Noun
  1. (narratology) A plot element or other device used to catch the audience's attention and maintain suspense, but whose exact nature has fairly little influence over the storyline.
Find more words!
Use * for blank tiles (max 2) Advanced Search Advanced Search
Use * for blank spaces Advanced Search
Advanced Word Finder
Similar Words
Examples
The murder is, of course, merely a Macguffin and even Poirot would be hard pressed to unmask the true killer.
As the children of the Lords MacGuffin, Dingwall and Macintosh, the three young nobles arrive in the film to try to win the hand of Princess Merida through sporting contest.
We're looking for a MacGuffin, which is an object that he goes after.
In The 39 Steps, the MacGuffin is a stolen set of design plans.
They learn not the use of a macguffin to expose character flaws but, rather, that fiction might have a pattern.
Simmons keeps the dense, Hitchcockian plot thrumming with derring-do and literal cliffhangers and romance and a cryptozoological MacGuffin.

See Also

Nearby Definitions
Find Definitions
go
Word Tools Finders & Helpers Apps More Synonyms
Copyright WordHippo © 2025