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Synonyms

goofy

American  
[goo-fee] / ˈgu fi /

adjective

Slang.
goofier, goofiest

  1. ridiculous; silly; wacky; nutty.

    a goofy little hat.
goofy British  
/ ˈɡuːfɪ /

adjective

  1. foolish; silly; stupid

  2. (of teeth) sticking out; protruding

"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

Other Word Forms

  • goofily adverb
  • goofiness noun

Etymology

Origin of goofy

First recorded in 1915–20; goof + -y 1

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."

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Vocabulary lists containing goofy

"Mooses"

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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.

No Friday farewell drinks with a goofy card everyone signed.

From Slate • Apr. 12, 2026

He resembles the Finder icon on Apple computers, but with a tiny stature and goofy mannerisms.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Baseball let Netflix hijack its season opener with goofy wrestlers and dancers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

A statement said: "Utterly destroying HG Wells' classic novel, director Rich Lee... chose a goofy gimmick, hack dialogue, and a particularly hilarious performance by its lead, Ice Cube, to seize 2025's biggest number of statues."

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

All these subprime lending companies were growing so rapidly, and using such goofy accounting, that they could mask the fact that they had no real earnings, just illusory, accounting-driven, ones.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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.