as in goofing (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
we spent the snow day just fiddling around
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fiddling (around)
Verb
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At a press conference Wednesday announcing the bill, lawmakers cited studies showing that the cost of playing youth sports has risen by 46% in five years, with many families paying more than $5,000 per child for a single season.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026 -
The 16-year-old Sullivan collected his first career MLS goal, playing a cross to Ben Bender and finishing the return pass to cut the deficit to 3-2.—
Kyle Foley,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Cycling can be guilty of prioritising traditionalism above all else — and there were individuals in the sport who dismissed them as YouTubers messing around, racing against genuine riders fighting to make a living.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
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All of our memories are traveling the world, messing around, having fun, and being teenagers.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In 2019, city employees began hanging about 500 trick-or-treat pumpkin buckets in the trees on Main Street every October.—
Elliott Harrell,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Oct. 2025
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Orion Nebula Those viewing from a dark sky location may also notice a blurry patch of light hanging about 5 degrees below Orion's belt.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Fiddling (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fiddling%20%28around%29. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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