Origin of goof
1915–20; apparently variant of obsolete
goff dolt < Middle French
goffe awkward, stupid
Words nearby goof
goody two shoes,
goody two-shoes,
goody-goody,
goodyear,
gooey,
goof,
goof on,
goof up,
goof-off,
goof-up,
goofball
Definition for goof up (2 of 2)
goof-up
or goof·up
[ goof-uhp ]
/ ˈgufˌʌp /
noun Slang.
a person who habitually makes mistakes, spoils things, gets into trouble, etc., especially through carelessness or irresponsibility.
a mistake, blunder, malfunction, or the like.
Origin of goof-up
First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase
goof up
British Dictionary definitions for goof up
goof
/ (ɡuːf) informal /
noun
a foolish error or mistake
a stupid person
verb
to bungle (something); botch
(intr; often foll by about or around)
to fool (around); mess (about)
(tr)
to dope with drugs
(intr often foll by off) US and Canadian
to waste time; idle
Word Origin for goof
C20: probably from (dialect)
goff simpleton, from Old French
goffe clumsy, from Italian
goffo, of obscure origin
Idioms and Phrases with goof up
goof up
Blunder, make a mistake, spoil. For example, I really goofed up and got all the dates wrong. This expression emerged in the military during World War II, along with the synonymous goof off. Quite often up is omitted, as in Sorry, I goofed. [Slang; c. 1940]