mess around

verb

messed around; messing around; messes around

intransitive verb

1

: to waste time : dawdle, idle

2

a

: associate

didn't mess around with gangs

b

: flirt, philander

Synonyms

• play
• fool around
• goof (around)
• fiddle (around)
• hang about [British]
• putter (around)
• potter (around)
• monkey (around)
• kick around

Examples of mess around in a Sentence

spent the vacation day just messing around

a guy who goes to the health club mainly to mess around with the women

Recent Examples on the Web

Columbia Men’s Silver Ridge Cargo Pants Engineered with Columbia’s water-resistant, moisture-wicking, sun-protective fabric weave, these hiking pants don’t mess around. —Alice Bennett, Travel + Leisure, 5 Oct. 2025

That's why the Red Sox can't mess around with the position this winter. —Michael Hurley, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

Almost all my poems go through like 10 plus drafts within their first week of life—I’m just constantly changing the line breaks, cutting lines out, messing around with the order, placing commas then taking them out again, adding concrete imagery, trying weird stuff. —Peter Mishler august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025

With the use of a pizza pan, there’s no messing around with stones and peels, which makes the process a breeze. —Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mess around

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• astound
• background