Goof
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A mistake or error. US, informal
"I made a goof in that last calculation."
- 2 a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior wordnet
- 3 A mistake or error.; An error made during production which finds its way into the final release. US, informal
- 4 a man who is a stupid incompetent fool wordnet
- 5 A foolish and/or silly person; a goofball. Canada, US, informal
"Your little brother is a total goof."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A rapist. Canada, slang
- 1 To make a mistake. US
"It's my fault. I goofed."
- 2 commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake wordnet
- 3 To engage in mischief. US
"We were just goofing by painting the neighbor's cat green."
Example
More examples"If you goof it up twice, I suggest hightailing it to Moscow or someplace."
Etymology
Perhaps from dialectal English goff (“foolish clown”), from earlier goffe, in which case further etymology is uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English goffen (“to speak in a frivolous manner”), possibly from Old English gaf, ġegaf (“base; wanton; lewd”, adjective), ġegaf (“buffoonery; scurrility”, noun), gaffetung, golfettung (“buffoonery; mockery”). Compare English dialectal gauffin (“lightheaded; foolish; giddy”), Scots gaff, gawf (“to talk loudly; babble”), Scots gaffaw (“a loud laugh”). Alternatively, perhaps from Middle French goffe (“awkward; stupid”). Compare also Spanish gofo, Italian goffo.
Related phrases
More for "goof"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.