goof off
goof off — phrasal verb
- goof offbase form
- goofs off3rd person singular
- goofing off-ing form
- goofed offpast simple
1. to deliberately waste time instead of doing the task or job you are supposed to
to deliberately waste time instead of doing the task or job you are supposed to be doing
Ingrid goofed off all afternoon instead of finishing the sales report.
The manager caught Andrés goofing off behind the storage room.
catch + someone + goofing off — catching someone in the act of wasting time
Bao was supposed to mop the floor but goofed off watching short videos.
Rohan and Kwame spent the whole morning goofing off by the duck pond.
Why do you always goof off when the boss steps out of the office?
- slack off
implies doing less than expected, often a gradual decline in effort rather than deliberate avoidance
- mess around
more about fooling around playfully; not always work-related
- laze about
emphasises physical laziness and not moving; less focused on avoiding work specifically
- buckle down
to start working seriously after a period of avoiding it
- knuckle down
similar to buckle down; to apply oneself seriously to a task
文法句型
goof off
goof off + adverb phrase
goof off + prepositional phrase
用法筆記
Informal phrasal verb, common in spoken American English. Always intransitive — you cannot say 'goof off something.' Not appropriate for formal or academic contexts.