goofy
Americanadjective
adjective
-
foolish; silly; stupid
-
(of teeth) sticking out; protruding
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of goofy
Explanation
Anything goofy is ridiculous and cute, like a squirrel on a skateboard or a big football player snuggling a teddy bear after every touch down. Goofy things are often well-intentioned but weird. Being awkward, telling dumb jokes and stories, or wearing crazy clothes are all great ways to be goofy. A goofy smile is sweet, unless you’re in England where it means you have big crooked teeth. Goofy, the dopey Disney dog who is all of these things, was created in 1929 when the word was brand new. It comes from a variation on the English dialect goff, "foolish clown."
Vocabulary lists containing goofy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If the film were as goofy as the killer’s pseudonym, it might be worth the two painful hours it takes to muster through this bloodless procedural.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Chud’s goofy name didn’t register with the man until I explained exactly who Eatherly was.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Peters had to be willing to act goofy in a few promotional TikTok videos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
But sure, hate the goofy guy in the vintage Nikes pointing all this out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
We’re acting goofy, flexing our muscles, sipping from water-backpack tubes and trying not to laugh.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
And if her goofier choices were unanimously refuted as artistic inferiority, we’d never get the chance to see her bounce from “Babygirl” to “Holland” to playing an Italian forensic pathologist in “Scarpetta.”
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026
No, they were not, but in a sign of progress, a few months ago the DMV actually began dumping some of the goofier questions readers complained about.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2024
But as the Monsterverse has gone on, the material has gotten goofier, landing us where we are with “Godzilla x Kong.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
The goofier “Shazam!,” which cost closer to $100 million to make, opened with $53.5 million in ticket sales and wound up an over-achieving success with $366 million worldwide.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2022
But where Stewart’s comedy on the series tended to be political, Zelensky’s sometimes veered into much goofier territory — more like Jimmy Fallon.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 28, 2022
The French have given us Delacroix, Debussy, Claire Denis and Simone de Beauvoir, along with some of the goofiest of goofball comedies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
He apologised for a follow-up track he released promising to "humble" Kendrick, saying it was the "lamest, goofiest" thing he'd recorded and was a "mis-step".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2024
And then I went to work and wrote just the goofiest sketch that I think made it on that day that was like, 'Join the fun!
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2024
“You have the goofiest thing next to the highest-skilled thing,” Bailey said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
Myron reached the bottom of the steps with the biggest, goofiest, dorkiest smile I had ever seen on a human being.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
