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
Relevance
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
Plotwise, four teens who grew up with technology and like to fool around on their laptops invading various verboten sites and having a great time doing it one day happen upon a bright idea.
—
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Mar. 2025
Bigger, bolder personalities may shine as jokers, always fooling around, or as storytellers, bringing imagination to life.
—Julianna Bragg, CNN, 23 Feb. 2025
While Mark and Helly were fooling around, Helly wasn’t fulfilling her promise to go get the directions Irving left tucked behind Dylan’s motivational poster.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
While the siblings have the habit of getting into troubles and to only use their creative skills to fool around, Michael sees in them a real talent.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Mar. 2025
Bigger, bolder personalities may shine as jokers, always fooling around, or as storytellers, bringing imagination to life.
—Julianna Bragg, CNN, 23 Feb. 2025
While Mark and Helly were fooling around, Helly wasn’t fulfilling her promise to go get the directions Irving left tucked behind Dylan’s motivational poster.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
While the siblings have the habit of getting into troubles and to only use their creative skills to fool around, Michael sees in them a real talent.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool around
Verb
-
Running or horsing around with sparklers can also cause injuries and burns when users trip and fall.—
Justin Laube,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 July 2025
-
Heath Ryan, who represented Australia in dressage at the 2008 Olympics, can be seen in the video – which the rider said is about two years old – hitting a horse around 40 times.—
Matias Grez,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
Verb
-
Still, that isn’t a factor when considering how hard and inspired the Broncos played in front of a ninth straight sellout crowd at Albertsons Stadium.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Though his interests were that of a pretty typical child — computing and gaming, playing the saxophone, enjoying soccer and time with his pets — he was also known for his acts of kindness and generosity.—
Lauren Costantino
September 6,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Born Drew Desbordes, Druski, 30, is a long way from the kid who spent his time at the dinner table cutting up.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Nobody wants to get their hands cut up by a downward moving blade.—
Vilius Kavaliauskas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But outgoing Milwaukee Symphony Music Director Ken-David Masur has packed his concluding season here with major choral works to show off the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus in its 50th year.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
5 Sep. 2025
-
There will be an array of events the weekend of September 26 to 28 at the Joseph—from a cooking class led by Top Chef champ Mei Lin to wine tastings to a cocktail mixology course—with the tentpoles being a pair of dinners that will show off very different styles of cooking.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Almost all my poems go through like 10 plus drafts within their first week of life—I’m just constantly changing the line breaks, cutting lines out, messing around with the order, placing commas then taking them out again, adding concrete imagery, trying weird stuff.—
Peter Mishler
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
-
With the use of a pizza pan, there’s no messing around with stones and peels, which makes the process a breeze.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Sizes Tablecloths should hang about 8-16 inches on each side for formal dining and about 3-6 inches on each side for casual dining.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
10 June 2025
-
Most asteroids hang about in the Mars to Jupiter region, and the ones near Earth obviously hang about a bit closer.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
2 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
Johnson, who struggles with a neuroma, swears by her Oofos mules to keep it from acting up.—
Jennifer Heimlich,
SELF,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Millennials are all about heading to the doctor’s office when their guts start acting up—and both experts agreed that’s a positive thing.—
Alisa Hrustic,
Health,
29 July 2025
Verb
-
Peralta leaders had kicked around the idea for years but avoided discussing it in concrete terms, with bureaucratic tangles often getting in the way.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
23 Aug. 2025
-
The idea for the interborough rail has been kicking around in one form or another for the better part of 30 years.—
Matthew Sedacca,
Curbed,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fool around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool%20around. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share