Pronunciation: ' rüb- ' g ō l(d)- ˌ b ə rg
Variant: also Rube Gold · berg · i · an \ - ˌ b ə r-g ē - ə n, - ˌ b ə rg-y ə n \
Function: adjective
Etymology: Reuben ( Rube ) L. Goldberg † 1970 American cartoonist
Date: 1931
: accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply <a kind of Rube Goldberg contraption ⋯ with five hundred moving parts ― L. T. Grant> also : characterized by such complex means