as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity
we've been goofing around long enough; it's time to get some real work done
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goof (around)
Verb
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Trump played a role of his own in applying pressure.—
Eric Cortellessa,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025 -
Pratt plays Detective Chris Raven, a man who programmed an artificial intelligence called Mercy, which Los Angeles courts are using to determine guilt.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
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Those have come from two players: Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres, who throws an odd knuckleball-changeup hybrid about 1 percent of the time, and Jonah Bride of the Minnesota Twins, an infielder fooling around with the knuckler in blowouts.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
Verb
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The student was found hanging about 50 feet up in a tree with the open chute, Metro Nashville Police Department said on X Saturday.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
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Sizes Tablecloths should hang about 8-16 inches on each side for formal dining and about 3-6 inches on each side for casual dining.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
10 June 2025
Verb
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The dismantling of the Cubs in the NLDS was a statement series that the Brewers are not messing around and have the power to win their first World Series.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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Sean Payton's team is squarely in mess around and find out territory through three quarters.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
12 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Goof (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goof%20%28around%29. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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