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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The track and field season is in full swing, and with an important juncture coming – the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships in July – Lyles doesn’t really have time to mess around. Cory Mull, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025 Wilson’s ambition, however, was undercut by intensifying, untreated mental illness as well as by drug use (including hashish and amphetamines) and pressure from the other Beach Boys and the group’s label, Capitol, to stop messing around and start cranking out hits. Jason Fine, Rolling Stone, 11 June 2025 But why are the Browns even messing around with this stuff? Zac Jackson, New York Times, 17 June 2025 Paddy: But not all of my dad's college years were about messing around. Outside Online, 11 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for mess around

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mess around was in 1918

Cite this Entry

“Mess around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20around. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on mess around

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