1
as in horsed 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 played
to spend time in aimless activity
we fooled around outdoors for a while, then went in to get some work done
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of fooled around
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
Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooled around
Verb
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Every one of the NFL’s 32 teams has played a regular-season game outside the United States and is signed up to the league’s Global Markets Program.—
Tom Chitty,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
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Savolainen played a huge role in Finland’s historic run in the 2019 hockey women’s world championship, in which the country made it to the final against the United States who, along with Canada, had previously dominated the competition and its gold medal matches.—
Hannah Ryan,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Her voice is intimate and resonant, whether cut up into indistinct background flurries or pushed to the front of the mix.—
Alex Robert Ross,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
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Such a potato is cut up into sections, each having a sprout or two.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Almost Famous star showed off a pair of strappy black sandal stilettos and a dark pedicure.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
16 Feb. 2026
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In the Americans' semifinal victory over Sweden, Team USA showed off their offensive capabilities during a four-minute stretch at the end of the second period.—
Becky Sullivan,
NPR,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In the email, Dixon suggested that the fire department employee may have messed around with the department's equipment.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And of course, Peterson not playing would have made some wonder if the McDonald’s All-American’s hamstring had acted up again.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
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One of the things that have been kicked around is a one-time 5% tax on billionaires.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
6 Jan. 2026
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As the college football season winds down, Penn State is still operating with an interim head coach after the dismissal of James Franklin, and Roethlisberger kicked around the idea of Tomlin heading to Happy Valley to take over that program.—
Patrick Damp,
CBS News,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fooled around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooled%20around. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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