I. ˈgüf noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably alteration of goff (I)
1. : a ridiculous stupid person
plays her as a simple country goof — Harold Hobson
2. : a blunder or mistake
made a goof — D.D.Eisenhower
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1. : to make a mistake or blunder
often misfired and goofed — G.P.Crist
somebody had goofed — Ethel Merman
2. slang
a. : to spend time idly or foolishly : shirk work : kill time
goofed on their way home from school — J.T.Farrell
get into … jams because you were goofing around — Infantry Journal
— often used with off
somebody is goofing off on the job — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News
b. : to have one's mind or attention wander : become abstracted — often used with off
could see he wasn't drunk, he was goofing off — Paul Monash
3. slang : to be in a state of euphoria induced by a narcotic substance
bought some more stuff and goofed around until night — Wenzell Brown
transitive verb
1. : to make a mess of (as a performance or operation) especially through a stupid blunder : bungle
just goofed it — C.B.Palmer b.1910
— often used with up
if I don't goof up the situation — Calder Willingham
you'd goof things up good — Tom Walters
2. slang : to intoxicate or stupefy especially with a narcotic substance — often used in the past participle with up
pretty goofed up that night — V.L.Preston