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
  • After horsing around, peruse the quilt displays, agriculture exhibits and arts-and-crafts competitions.
    — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Ortiz navigated past 17 other horses around the final turn and made a hard charge down the stretch.
    — Stephen Whyno, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 May 2026
Definition of horse around
Verb
  • He was handed a wild card to play doubles at Wimbledon this year but lost in the first round.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • My model is concentrated on the last 24 rounds played, and includes driving distance, strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained around the green, strokes gained putting, and strokes gained on par 3s longer than 200 yards.
    — Dennis Esser, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of play
Verb
  • One of the women was cut up and wearing a bathing suit while Kovalcik was shirtless.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Sporting Kansas City joined the vanquished Galaxy and Real Salt Lake on Saturday as LAFC cut up the last-place team in the Western Conference, 4-0.
    — Josh Gross, Daily News, 26 July 2026
Definition of cut up
Verb
  • And, the school wasn’t messing around with the secretiveness of the open practice for those who either received a ticket or media members in attendance.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The buckle on the Jordan clogs is a great touch, and the arch support isn’t messing around.
    — Annie Blackman, InStyle, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of mess around
Verb
  • Naturally, Vicki does not participate in any of the gyrating or the splits that Kyle and Lisa dutifully show off.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Many stars, including Hathaway, have been embracing maternity dressing that shows off their bumps, rather than eclipsing them with boxy silhouettes.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 16 Aug. 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 20 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of fool around for Spanish Speakers

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