goof
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to blunder; make an error, misjudgment, etc.
-
to waste or kill time; evade work or responsibility (often followed by off oraround ).
Exam week is not a time to goof off. We goofed around till train time.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a foolish or stupid person.
-
a mistake or blunder, especially one due to carelessness.
-
a source of fun or cause for amusement.
We short-sheeted his bunk just for a goof.
verb phrase
noun
-
a foolish error or mistake
-
a stupid person
verb
-
to bungle (something); botch
-
(intr; often foll by about or around) to fool (around); mess (about)
-
(tr) to dope with drugs
-
to waste time; idle
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
goofsimple
-
goofssimple
-
have goofedperfect
-
has goofedperfect
-
am goofingprogressive
-
are goofingprogressive
-
is goofingprogressive
-
have been goofingperfect progressive
-
has been goofingperfect progressive
Past
-
goofedsimple
-
had goofedperfect
-
was goofingprogressive
-
were goofingprogressive
-
had been goofingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of goof
1915–20; apparently variant of obsolete goff dolt < Middle French goffe awkward, stupid
Explanation
A goof is a silly fool. If you can't stop telling jokes, even after your math class has started, your teacher will think you're a goof. There are many alternate words for goof, including dimwit, dummy, and nitwit. In other words, you should only call someone a goof if you mean to insult their intelligence. The mistakes a goof — or anyone — makes can also be called goofs: "I made such a goof when I was mixing this cake batter." Goof is a 1916 American invention, probably influenced by the English dialect goff, "foolish clown."
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:
I think pretty early on, we were like, “Let’s goof on Alex for a little while in this conspiracy world.”
From Slate ● Jul. 12, 2026
I asked Clark if he was worried that a 58-year-old player would be a distraction to the program, or seen as a goof.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
"This is reputation management of the highest order," he wrote, criticising the "softest editing" which painted Sir Jacob wrongly as a "harmless gosh-and-golly goof".
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2024
But, you know, we're out to have fun and we're out to goof around.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2024
“Yes, ma’am. Got promoted last week. They messed up, letting me and Marlon goof off out here.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
He goofs off with the ball kids, who are closer in age to him than any of the tennis pooh-bahs in charge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2025
That may make it easier to get correct answers, but also can make the stakes higher if the AI goofs and makes a user uncomfortable or botches financial data.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
To ensure success and avoid roof goofs, hire a reliable roofing contractor, get in writing exactly what will be done, and keep a close eye on the job as it progresses.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 20, 2022
The long-pause humor here is the opposite of the barrage we expect from “Airplane!”-style genre goofs.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2022
“I heard you. Maybe I’m too old to get mad, or maybe what you consider goofs aren’t what / consider goofs—it’s just stuff that happens.”
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
Colbert often goofed on his public image with mock outrage over perceived offenses, a carry-over from his long-running shtick on “The Colbert Report.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
"Ecowas goofed, the Nigerian president also goofed," said Prof Khalifa Dikwa, an academic at the University of Maiduguri and a member of an influential group of elders in northern Nigeria.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2023
You need a paper trail that shows Avianca or GoToGate goofed.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 17, 2023
Chief Executive Bob Iger acknowledges his company goofed on some of its pricing strategies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2023
And every time she played it over she goofed on it like it was so way out.
From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers
Geisel lasted less than a year in Oxford, but Jones says "once he's hooked up with Helen" he spent his time "travelling, goofing off and kind of really doing anything but his studies".
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
During the case, Varyukhina posted clips on Instagram of the couple goofing around in an apartment and dressing up in funny outfits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
Older kids and adults — even those who aren't furries — also love some animal-themed goofing off: Consider the mascots associated wity many college sports teams.
From Salon ● May 12, 2025
“The dispatcher could see that it looked like a student … just kind of goofing around in the building.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
We would stay up half the night goofing.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
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.
