1
as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to flirt
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
a guy who goes to the health club mainly to mess around with the women
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to travel
to come or be together as friends
if you continue to mess around with such narrow-minded boobs, you'll begin to think and act like them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mess around
Otherwise, Gauff sounds like any other 21-year-old, enjoying time with her boyfriend, messing around on TikTok, and showing off her first Labubu.
—
Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 21 Aug. 2025
Around March, during a session with Allen and Slatkin, Maddell started messing around with chords to pair with an acoustic that Slatkin had at the ready.
—Josh Glicksman, Billboard, 12 Aug. 2025
Randall Art likes to mess around sometimes.
—Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 12 Aug. 2025
So for example Joule, our digital assistant, cannot mess around with compliance checks on travel and on sourcing, or on directing the flow of materials.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess around
Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 21 Aug. 2025
Around March, during a session with Allen and Slatkin, Maddell started messing around with chords to pair with an acoustic that Slatkin had at the ready.
—Josh Glicksman, Billboard, 12 Aug. 2025
Randall Art likes to mess around sometimes.
—Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 12 Aug. 2025
So for example Joule, our digital assistant, cannot mess around with compliance checks on travel and on sourcing, or on directing the flow of materials.
—Tharin Pillay, Time, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mess around
Verb
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In the Carmel area, the trail passes a cool play space and Midtown Plaza, where the family can play a little ping-pong or corn hole, grab a bite to eat, or just relax on the bench swings.—
Beth Luberecki,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
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The Stars played their first eight seasons in Reunion Arena, located in downtown Dallas.—
Rob Rossi,
New York Times,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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At home, Netanyahu openly flirts with annexing large swaths of the West Bank.—
Firas Maksad,
Time,
25 Sep. 2025
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Powell doesn’t just mean that stock prices are flirting with record highs.—
Ryan Ermey,
CNBC,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Like hundreds of thousands of foreign professionals, Qian lived on an H-1B work visa — the document that tethered her job, her ability to travel, and her entire sense of security to the grace of her employer.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
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For his third album, Tomlinson once again teamed up with producer Nico Rebscher (Aurora, Zoe Wees), and traveled to Santa Teresa in Costa Rica for inspiration in early 2025.—
Jason Lipshutz,
Billboard,
30 Sep. 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
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Those have come from two players: Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres, who throws an odd knuckleball-changeup hybrid about 1 percent of the time, and Jonah Bride of the Minnesota Twins, an infielder fooling around with the knuckler in blowouts.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Still, Greenbaum said the Babylonians made a conscious choice to simplify the Zodiac and tie the twelve signs to the seasons so that Aries, for example, would be associated with the start of Spring.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
28 Sep. 2025
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Although Americans mostly associate California with wine country, Texas deserves credit, Landon said.—
Peter Burke,
FOXNews.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rents will run from $1,500 for studios to $3,400 for three-bedroom units, according to the release.—
Bridget Fogarty,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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The trailer’s modular design allows researchers, aid organizations, and even event organizers to adapt the trailer to their needs, regardless of whether for charging equipment, powering lights and communication devices, or running refrigeration systems.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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Seasoning refers to the layer of polymerized fat bonded to the surface of a cast-iron pan.—
Julie Harans,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
1 Oct. 2025
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And then instantly there was an audience who bonded to it too.—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mess around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mess%20around. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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