goof

[ goof ]

/ guf /

Slang.

verb (used without object)

to blunder; make an error, misjudgment, etc.

to waste or kill time; evade work or responsibility (often followed by off or around): Exam week is not a time to goof off. We goofed around till train time.

verb (used with object)

to spoil or make a mess of (something); botch; bungle (often followed by up): You really goofed up the job.

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 Phrases

goof on, Slang. to tease, ridicule, or mock; make fun of.

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Origin of goof

1915–20; apparently variant of obsolete goff dolt < Middle French goffe awkward, stupid

Words nearby goof

goody two shoes, goody two-shoes, goody-goody, goodyear, gooey, goof, goof on, goof up, goof-off, goof-up, goofball

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for goof on

goof

/ (ɡuːf) informal /

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

(intr often foll by off) US and Canadian to waste time; idle

Word Origin for goof

C20: probably from (dialect) goff simpleton, from Old French goffe clumsy, from Italian goffo, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with goof on

goof on

Make fun of, mock, as in He was always goofing on his little brother. [Slang; mid-1900s]