1
as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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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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Kirk played a pivotal role in helping Republicans close the gap among young voters in 2024.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
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The Astros are now one game behind the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians, with two games to play.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The broadcast networks, which have long been flirting with getting out of the linear business, might then accelerate such plans.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
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Creative projects could turn into profitable side hustles, and flirting over your go-to bedding styles never felt so good.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Even on Tuesday morning, mere days before the Vikings’ 195-or-so-person traveling party arrives, Martin was sorting through specifics.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
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In March, a large sinkhole opened up in front of a motorcyclist traveling in the South Korean capital, Seoul.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 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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Starbucks is facing multiple employee complaints and lawsuits across the United States over the rollout of a new dress code and the expenses associated with it.—
John Toher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
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The five new products are designed to address challenges associated with protective hairstyles and extensions.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kuina is teaching karate at her father’s dojo, Heiya is an influencer, Aguni is running the Hatter’s hat shop, and Niragi is trying to be better for his kid.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
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Developed by the late Silvio Horta and based on the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, Ugly Betty premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ran for four seasons until 2010.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
25 Sep. 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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My goal was to figure out how to get 12 guys to bond in a span of about three or four days to go play their best.—
Jayson Jenks,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
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The Louisville-area residents met a few years ago and bonded over originally being from Nepal, the Courier Journal previously reported.—
Amanda Hancock,
Louisville Courier Journal,
23 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mess around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mess%20around. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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