putter around

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, of course, looked like the plan as recently as a month ago, when the team was puttering around in last place in the American League East. — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 17 July 2026

Outside of work, Donovan enjoyed golfing, reading, spending time with family and puttering around his property. — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026

And Paltrow’s not the only A-lister embracing clogs as the weather warms up, either; Jennifer Aniston recently styled her taupe pair with jeans, and Meghan Markle wore clogs while puttering around in her garden. — Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 16 May 2026

The Legislature should stop puttering around on this and commit to embracing the governor’s limited and common-sense reforms. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for putter around

• abound
• aground
• astound
• background
• campground
• clothbound
• confound
• earthbound
• eastbound
• expound
• fairground
• foreground