mess about
verb
messed about; messing about; messes about
British, informal
1
: to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious : to waste time
We just messed about all afternoon.
She spent the evening messing about on the computer.
It's time we stopped messing about and got busy.
2
: to have sex with someone who is not one's husband, wife, or regular partner
His wife discovered that he was messing about (on her).
—often + withHer husband discovered that she was messing about with her assistant.
Examples of mess about in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Shiny black cars and mountain bikes are on standby to purr you down a three-mile country road to the Beach Club, where the mood is even more drowsy and low-key (though kids and alpha males will enjoy messing about with the paddleboards, windsurfers, and other non-motorised water-sports).
—
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Despite living in the most landlocked part of the British midlands in the 1980s, we were obsessed with the adventures of these 1929 pre-war kids messing about on boats in the Lake District.
—Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Unfortunately, the luxurious era of those signals not being messed about with intentionally is over.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 13 May 2026
The other kids would run off, messing about, once their game was over.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
Let our cool movie play at Toronto and stop messing about with a rubbish defamation suit against me!
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
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Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
Despite living in the most landlocked part of the British midlands in the 1980s, we were obsessed with the adventures of these 1929 pre-war kids messing about on boats in the Lake District.
—Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Unfortunately, the luxurious era of those signals not being messed about with intentionally is over.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 13 May 2026
The other kids would run off, messing about, once their game was over.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
Let our cool movie play at Toronto and stop messing about with a rubbish defamation suit against me!
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mess about.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20about. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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