goof
Americanverb (used without object)
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to blunder; make an error, misjudgment, etc.
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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
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a foolish or stupid person.
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a mistake or blunder, especially one due to carelessness.
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a source of fun or cause for amusement.
We short-sheeted his bunk just for a goof.
verb phrase
noun
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a foolish error or mistake
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a stupid person
verb
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to bungle (something); botch
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(intr; often foll by about or around) to fool (around); mess (about)
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(tr) to dope with drugs
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to waste time; idle
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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goofsimple
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goofssimple
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have goofedperfect
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has goofedperfect
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am goofingprogressive
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are goofingprogressive
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is goofingprogressive
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have been goofingperfect progressive
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has been goofingperfect progressive
Past
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goofedsimple
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had goofedperfect
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was goofingprogressive
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were goofingprogressive
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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
“It’s a thing about my personality to be silly and goof around.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 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
“Let’s hope I don’t goof up,” says Tim, comically bending his sword and shooting me a worried look.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Airline fare goofs are rare—Thrifty Traveler has sent 20 mistake fare alerts since 2020.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Victory goes to the fastest canine, with penalties for any goofs in clearing the obstacles.
From Seattle Times ● May 14, 2024
By this point, I’ve made countless gardening goofs, big and small, and those mistakes have given me a healthy perspective on our limited power over nature.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2023
The star goofs off in a brief turn as a nefarious tycoon, hidden behind half-opaque glasses, a fey warble and a riot of facial hair.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 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
In down times, they played card games and goofed around, singing patriotic songs, recording videos and taking selfies.
From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2023
"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
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
Been home all afternoon, just loafing and goofing, not a care in the world.
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.
