putter around
phrasal verb
puttered around; puttering around; putters around
US
: to spend time in a relaxed way doing small jobs and other things that are not very important
I didn't do much last weekend. I just puttered around.
He spent his vacation puttering around the house/garden.
Examples of putter around in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That amount would be the equivalent of a few extra five-minute walks, one 15-minute walk at a moderately brisk pace, or just more time puttering around the house or yard.
—
Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Fanning, for whom this film is certainly a showcase, plays Polly, who’s revealed to be a physical and emotional mess in the opening scenes, in which she’s shown anxiously puttering around her large, unkempt house, chain-smoking and trying on dresses for an upcoming important interview.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
Singing onstage at New York’s Beacon Theatre or puttering around her house in Brittany, Birkin appears shorter and stouter, with thin lips and sunspots.
—Anahid Nersessian, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
This car cries out to be puttered around in, not flogged.
—ArsTechnica, 9 July 2025
Then Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright followed, and now Jax is puttering around in his front yard, all alone, blowing leaves down the driveway as if that is some job.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
Enjoy puttering around home and making improvements and repairs.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
Still, sources inside the streamer insist there’s optimism over Meghan’s new show, a Sue Ann Nivens-like series in which the happy homemaker putters around the house doling out cooking and gardening tips.
—Benjamin Svetkey and Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2025
But while puttering around the house or strength training, the lack of a wraparound neckband makes these infinitely more comfortable, especially for exercises like chest presses or leaning back in my chair.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 7 Jan. 2025
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Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Fanning, for whom this film is certainly a showcase, plays Polly, who’s revealed to be a physical and emotional mess in the opening scenes, in which she’s shown anxiously puttering around her large, unkempt house, chain-smoking and trying on dresses for an upcoming important interview.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
Singing onstage at New York’s Beacon Theatre or puttering around her house in Brittany, Birkin appears shorter and stouter, with thin lips and sunspots.
—Anahid Nersessian, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
This car cries out to be puttered around in, not flogged.
—ArsTechnica, 9 July 2025
Then Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright followed, and now Jax is puttering around in his front yard, all alone, blowing leaves down the driveway as if that is some job.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
Enjoy puttering around home and making improvements and repairs.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
Still, sources inside the streamer insist there’s optimism over Meghan’s new show, a Sue Ann Nivens-like series in which the happy homemaker putters around the house doling out cooking and gardening tips.
—Benjamin Svetkey and Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2025
But while puttering around the house or strength training, the lack of a wraparound neckband makes these infinitely more comfortable, especially for exercises like chest presses or leaning back in my chair.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 7 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Putter around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/putter%20around. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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