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:
Peters had to be willing to act goofy in a few promotional TikTok videos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Erling Haaland stood on the pitch in Dallas, a goofy grin across his face and a Viking helmet atop his head at a jaunty angle.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
What follows is an unrepentantly goofy scene in which Mary attempts a serious discussion about and demonstration of the difference between lark and thrush calls.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
Launched in an era where machismo meant a goofy wrestler or metal singer with an eight-octave falsetto, the steroidal beskirted barbarian has always been a bit ridiculous.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
A goofy grin stretched across the dog’s face and he let out a happy yelp.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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
Even goofier is an emotional scene that builds to June pledging this teary promise to her vanished mother: “I’ll stop making fun of you for using Siri for everything.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
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
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
He gave me the goofiest smile and said, “Sorry, Maleeka...,” and moved to the front of the bus with his boys.
From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake
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.
