goof
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
goof
- /ɡuːf/
Rhymes with -uːf
Where it comes from
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.
noun goofs
-
A mistake or error.
I made a goof in that last calculation.
Similar: blooper, boo-boo, error, faux pas, fluff, gaffe, lapse, mistake, slip, stumble, thinko, aberration
-
An error made during production which finds its way into the final release.
Similar: blooper, boo-boo, error, faux pas, fluff, gaffe, lapse, mistake, slip, stumble, thinko, aberration
- A foolish and/or silly person; a goofball. Your little brother is a total goof.
- A rapist.
verb goofs · goofing · goofed
- To make a mistake. It's my fault. I goofed.
-
To engage in mischief.
We were just goofing by painting the neighbor's cat green.
Similar: goof around
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: blunder, boob, fathead, zany, sin, jackass, goose, cuckoo, flub, snafu, err, idiot, error, slip, goof-up, boo-boo
Translations
Every language
noun a mistake or error
| Português | gafe |
|---|---|
| Français | gaffe |
| Italiano | sbaglio, errore |
| Русский | опло́шность oplóšnostʹ, оши́бка ošíbka |
noun child molester
| Русский | растли́тель rastlítelʹ, растли́тельница rastlítelʹnica, педофи́л pedofíl |
|---|
noun an error made during production which finds its way into the final release
| Português | falha |
|---|---|
| Français | coquille |
noun a foolish person
| Português | bobo, tonto |
|---|---|
| Français | boulet |
| Italiano | tonto, fuori di testa |
| Русский | дура́к durák, ду́рень dúrenʹ, болва́н bolván, остоло́п ostolóp, тупи́ца tupíca, крети́н kretín |
verb to make a mistake
| Deutsch | fehlen |
|---|---|
| Italiano | sbagliare, errare |
| Русский | опростоволо́ситься oprostovolósitʹsja, попада́ть впроса́к popadátʹ vprosák, попа́сть впроса́к popástʹ vprosák |
verb to engage in mischief
| Italiano | prendere una cantonata |
|---|
Talk about this word "goof." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/goof. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. goof. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/goof "goof." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/goof.Cite this
@misc{goof_2026,
title = {goof},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/goof},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
