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:
He’s just goofy, said Lakers guard Jaden Hardy, who played with Doncic in Dallas from 2022-2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
She’s good at these little details that illuminate character, and isn’t afraid of goofy phrases that make you wonder if she’s playing it straight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Variety magazine was also impressed by his stage presence, external, writing: "Styles is a one-in-millions performer, with a hurricane-force charm that's dashing and sexy and goofy at the same time."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
She’s a real person, sometimes rendered with an era-specific crudeness, but she’s never made to look goofy.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Jack’s a performer, waving his arms around and using goofy expressions to tell his stories, and it makes me crack up.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
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 one evening last week, a crowd in one of the library’s elegant public rooms was milling around a goofier treasure: an Abraham Lincoln-themed pie safe.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 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
It is substantially goofier, trading wit for camp and channeling its rock star vibes more expressly than before.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 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
Pacific Opera Project, L.A.’s goofiest opera company, has never been goofier nor made goofiness so radiant as in its revival of a super-obscure 19th-century satire, Antonio Cagnoni’s “Don Bucefalo.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
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
“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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
