as in to kill time
to spend time doing nothing
returned home unannounced and found the au pair goofing off
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goof-off
Noun
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Armored truck driver Russell (Murphy) is nearing retirement and is on a cash pickup job with young slacker Travis (Davidson) when the latter gets snookered by a criminal (Keke Palmer) into a high-stakes robbery situation.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
15 Aug. 2025 -
When a groundbreaking medical procedure promises to turn slackers into overachievers, an aging father sees it as his last chance to achieve the American Dream…through his unemployed adult daughter.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In general, the brand has been somewhat of an underachiever in terms of its revenue contribution to Nike over the years.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
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Especially given the turmoil with the other edge rushers, eyes are focused on seeing if Murphy looks like the same underachiever from the first two years or a blossoming athletic specimen.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Verb
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This is something Kang was championing — badass characters who also veg out on the couch without makeup on.—
Nicole Fell,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Aug. 2025
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And while humans tend to veg out on the couch, canines typically only watch for short periods.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
Verb
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The then-councilor doled out a $13,000 bonus to one of her Council staffers, a relative but not an immediate family member, on the condition that $7,000 be kicked back to her.—
Lance Reynolds,
Boston Herald,
8 Aug. 2025
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To kick back and relax, the drawing room opens out to landscaped gardens through elegant French doors, while the sitting room features William Morris wallpaper and a wood burner.—
Felicity Carter,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This matching set has your back for everything from lounging and running errands to exhausting travel days.—
Mia Huelsbeck,
People.com,
10 Aug. 2025
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The cafe serves coffee drinks, sandwiches and other pastries to hungry customers lounging in its large outdoor patio.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
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Most asteroids hang about in the Mars to Jupiter region, and the ones near Earth obviously hang about a bit closer.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
2 Oct. 2024
Verb
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When your morning brew is too hot, your chapter gets interrupted, or the remote needs a home, the best end tables ensure that there’s a nearby place to rest whatever may be filling your hands.—
Kate McGregor,
Architectural Digest,
20 Aug. 2025
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The scaling hypothesis—the belief that bigger models will produce more intelligent outputs—seems to rest on the dubious belief that a system that has been fed enough information about the world will not have to deal with fuzziness.—
Meghan O’Gieblyn,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Get our daily newsletter Yet Mr Schwarzman avoids footling with life’s foot-soldiers for a reason.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
19 Sep. 2019
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Last year an American startup called Swarm Technologies paid a footling $900,000 fine for sending four tiny satellites into orbit on an Indian rocket, having been denied permission to do so by the US Federal Communications Commission.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
17 July 2019
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Cite this Entry
“Goof-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goof-off. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.
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