What does “goyim” mean?

In the Bible

The word appears hundreds of times in the Hebrew Bible with the simple meaning “nation”. God promises Abraham: “I will make of you a great nation (goy gadol)” (Genesis 12:2). At Sinai Israel is told it will be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (goy kadosh)” (Exodus 19:6). The plural goyim usually means “the nations” of the world, as in Isaiah’s vision that “all the nations shall stream” to Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2).

In rabbinic and modern usage

Because Israel was often contrasted with the other peoples, rabbinic Hebrew and later Yiddish used goy for an individual non-Jew. In Jewish law the more formal terms are nochri (“foreigner”) or ben Noach (“descendant of Noah”), a reminder that every human being is bound by the universal Noahide commandments. Many Jews today prefer “non-Jew” in English.

Respect for every human being

Jewish teaching insists on the dignity of all people. The Mishnah explains why the first human was created alone: so that no one could say “my father is greater than yours”. Pirkei Avot teaches: “Beloved is the human being, created in God’s image.” Judaism teaches that the righteous of all nations have a share in the world to come.

So when you meet the word, the meaning is “nation” or “non-Jew”. Using it as a slur goes against those very teachings.