as in joking
wildly playful or mischievous behavior
at the beach there was a lot more horsing around on the sand than actual swimming in the water
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in cutting up
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
the boys were horsing around on the boat when one of them fell overboard
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of horsing around
Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026
Verb
In April 2020, Iglesias shared a video of him horsing around with Lucy and Nicholas as the pair attempted to climb on his back for a ride.
—Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 19 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for horsing around
Noun
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Cole follows up with a joking request to appear on an interlude on the forthcoming project, then asks whether West could send him a care package of clothes — which West agrees to — before exiting the stage.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
28 Dec. 2025
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Our poll’s options include a joking reference to Dan Marino.—
Greg Cote
December 20,
Miami Herald,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, Meredith is cutting up with the other ladies at the spa, without a care in the world.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
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Ford is planning on cutting up to 1,000 roles in electric-vehicle production in Germany.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Barnett was the second Mississippi resident to take the monkey business into their own hands.—
Bracey Harris,
NBC news,
5 Nov. 2025
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The monkey business is dominated by a handful of highly secretive and rivalrous brokers.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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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,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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As a showcase of youth innovation, future artificial intelligence technology took center stage in Rancho Cordova with students showing off their bots.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
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But Fitzgerald was the team leader in interceptions (six), showing off his ball-hawking abilities.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Likewise, when the young men started acting up, Josephine Holt took a keen interest in her newspaper.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
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If your trackpad is acting up, keyboard shortcuts can keep you productive without fighting the cursor.—
Ken Colburn,
AZCentral.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The clowning isn’t over just yet, though.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
13 Jan. 2026
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Art, meanwhile, occupies a lonely table in the pizzeria and tries to put on his best clowning act for the two women.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yet this is truly an ensemble show, in which each performer has multiple opportunities to shine, executing some splendidly silly bits together, such as delivering CPR to a sandwich or convincingly channeling their inner tots during some post-bedtime horseplay.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
1 Feb. 2026
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There was reportedly no horseplay or swerving during the ride, according to 9News.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
22 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Horsing around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horsing%20around. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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