A goon is a henchman of some description, usually a muscular thug with very little intelligence. The term rose to prominence thanks to frequent usage in Popeye.

By extension, it has become a popular slang term for an ice hockey player who starts fights and puts in hard hits on opposition players in defence of his less imposing and more vulnerable team-mates.

The term (also derived from Popeye) was used to describe any of the members of the The Goon Show which was a very popular and influential radio series in the United Kingdom.

The web comic El Goonish Shive takes its title from a nickname of writer Dan Shive and presumably has a similar derivation.

The volunteers who serve as support staff at Defcon are called "goons".

It is also a term used to designate a member of the Something Awful forums posting community. It has its roots in an angry Awful Link of the Day webmaster complaining that Lowtax (owner and head goon of Something Awful) had sent his "goons" after him.

"Goon" is used to describe almost anything related to forum members: Goon Meet, Goon Justice, Goon Squad (MMORPG Goon Guild), Gooncon, Goonerocity, Goon Camp...

Goon is also an Australian English term for cheap low quality cask wine, usually 4L or 5L in volume. Goon comes in such popular flavours as "Fruity Lexia". The wine cask itself is referred to as a "goonbag", and the rapid drinking of the wine is called a "goonscull". The bag can be pegged to a rotary clothesline for a game of "Goon of Fortune" (a reference to Wheel of Fortune).