fool around

verb

Definition of fool aroundnext
1
as in to horse around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior quit fooling around on the jungle gym, or you'll get hurt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity we fooled around outdoors for a while, then went in to get some work done

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of fool around Bella Ramsey takes a break from killing zombies and avenging father figures, their usual pastimes in series The Last of Us, to fool around and fall in love in Sunny Dancer, a decidedly uneven but fitfully charming, YA-skewed British comedy-drama. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026 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, 7 Feb. 2026 Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects. — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026 Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general. — Quanta Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fool around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool around
  1. horse around
  2. play
  3. cut up
  4. mess around
  5. show off
  6. hang about
  7. act up
  8. kick around
Verb
  • Also, don’t get too out of control horsing around with friends in the water.
    — John Natale, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026
  • According to McGrady, the only royal who didn’t enjoy the time away in the Highlands was the late Princess Diana, who didn’t fit in with the family’s outdoorsy vibes and didn’t enjoy riding horses around the property due to a fall as a child.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of horse around
Verb
  • And most notably for Premier League fans, there is plenty of opportunity to gauge each English club, with Liverpool and Arsenal the only teams playing concurrently on the opening week.
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Propulsion capacity grows The PAC-3 MSE’s propulsion system plays a critical role during an engagement.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of play
Verb
  • Later, it was prevented from being cut up to decorate a carnival float.
    — Lauren Frayer, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
  • One reason being that the videographer kept cutting up [a slab of] meat for the castle owner.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of cut up
Verb
  • Both of France’s sons seem to appreciate imaginative play over messing around with action figures, something that makes perfect sense given France’s own love for the arts.
    — Marah Eakin, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Take note at the point in a song when the real dancers stop messing around.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of mess around
Verb
  • Kienholz showed off his mobility both as a runner and passer, effectively threw to all levels of the field and made clutch play after clutch play in the second half.
    — Antonio Morales, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The bush is deciduous but shows off gold, orange, and red fall color.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of show off
Verb
  • President James Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau, died by hanging about five months after he was convicted of murder.
    — USA Today, USA Today, 17 June 2026
  • On Monday, May 18, a 7%-illuminated crescent will hang about two degrees from Venus, with Jupiter about 20 degrees above.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 15 May 2026
Definition of hang about
Verb
  • Powell said the Cru team rarely gets such blowback because of its gentler approach, though the occasional troll will act up.
    — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 26 July 2026
  • Currently, Screen Time often acts up and just cuts off access to all apps, whether it’s supposed to or not.
    — Tyler Hayes, PC Magazine, 9 June 2026
Definition of act up
Verb
  • The fantasy of a cultural architecture that’s as flexible as culture itself has been kicking around for more than 100 years, and there’s something obscurely disappointing about seeing a technocratic version get put into practice.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 29 July 2026
  • Within the venue gates but outside the stands, groups of friends were playing cornhole and having picnic dinners from food trucks parked onsite; older attendees were chatting and kids were kicking around mini soccer balls.
    — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 7 July 2026
Definition of kick around

Browse Nearby Words

fool's paradises
fool around
fooled
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Cite this Entry

“Fool around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool%20around. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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