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Glite Dictionary
goofing off

goofing off

13 7.7
Avoiding work by wasting time on other things
  • noun
  • /ˈɡuːfɪŋ ɔf/
  • Informal
translation icon : perder el tiempo
  • Instead of finishing their project, the team ended up goofing off and wasting the day.
  • just goofing off
  • goofing off with friends
  • time for goofing off

And taking time off, goofing off is another great way to do that.

Examples

  • Don't goof off and work hard.

    Blade Of Honor (2017)

  • And also, I don't care that my job's stupid 'cause you know, I don't have any responsibilities and I get to come here and goof off with you all the time.

    Bugs: A Trilogy (2018)

  • All he wants to do is goof off.

    Booksmart (2019)

  • Before I perform, I usually like to just goof off.

    Last Flight (2014)

  • You see someone goofing off at work, you fix it; it comes right out of your bottom line.

    Blog text (4)

  • PE is more for fun and a lot of goofing off, whereas youth sports are more of a competition.

    Academic text (2015)

  • I mean, a lot of the physical education is more just hanging out with your buddies and goofing off.

    Academic text (2015)

  • You'll never be happy if you spend all your time goofing off.

    Barnyard (2006)

  • Rich: OK, but you can't goof off just because the teacher left the room.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Mikey and I were in the back seat, goofing off, playing Mercy.

    The Last Song (2010)

Synonyms

loafing
vsgoofing off
2 5.0

Spending time doing nothing instead of working

focuses on doing aimless activities rather than just unwillingness
shirking
vsgoofing off
1 6.5

Avoiding work or responsibility

is more about aimless idle activity than deliberate evasion
goldbricking
vsgoofing off
  • Archaic
1 9.6

Avoiding work by pretending to be busy

is open, aimless activity rather than hidden avoidance while pretending
slacking
vsgoofing off
  • Informal
6.2

Not doing work or tasks when you should

involves idle, aimless activities instead of deliberate duty evasion
soldiering
vsgoofing off
  • UK
8.6

Not doing work someone should do at their job

focuses on idle, aimless activities rather than skipping assigned duties

Antonyms

hard work
355 1.6

A lot of steady effort to achieve something difficult

How Idle

shirking
1 6.5
slacking
  • Informal
6.2
goofing off
  • Informal
13 7.7
loafing
2 5.0
dawdling
4 6.5

Surface Forms

goofing off singular
goofing offs plural

Morphology

goof + off

The meaning 'avoiding work by fooling around' is directly built from 'goof' (to fool around) combined with the particle 'off', which signals away/cessation—together they compose the sense of diverting oneself from duties. This phrasal-verb pattern is common and predictable in English (compare 'slack off', 'mess around'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

Goofing off comes from the image of a goof (a silly person) who steps off from work to joke and play. So it means 'avoiding work' or 'doing nothing' when you should be working.