messes around

present tense third-person singular of mess around
1
2
as in flirts
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

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 messes around Other standouts include a Maybelline mascara and a Black and Decker handheld vacuum, which makes quick work of small messes around the house and in the car. Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messes around
Verb
  • Berglund is a big, heavy center who plays a hard, detailed two-way game.
    Corey Pronman, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The trio also saw how coffee plays a central role in Chicago’s bakery culture, and their beverage program features local makers Sparrow Coffee and Spirit Tea.
    Carly Boers, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Hal flirts with Kerry; John has an affair with Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan), the wife of William Macon (Garret Dillahunt), a local cattle mogul whose compound has more high tech weaponry than a mere human would seem to need.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Rachel dates a shoe store operator named Lou (Bob Hoskins), while Charlotte nurses a crush on her handsome young school bus driver and flirts with Catholicism to the chagrin of her Jewish mother.
    David Faris, TheWeek, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • For her cookbook, Pereira developed and perfected 100 original recipes with easy-to-find ingredients that infuse accessible dishes with rich flavors inspired by her Portuguese-Goan heritage and travels around the world.
    Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The Glenwood Whitewater Activity Area has a standing river wave that draws kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders, and the river, which travels through dramatic Glenwood Canyon, is a top place for travelers interested in white-water rafting.
    Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 20 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Though the sisters are supposedly first-generation Italian American, no whiff of the old country hangs about Kay; Dorothy will at least spit out a few words in Italian.
    Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Turquoise pearl, and azure line the space, and a cylindrical hanging light sculpture made of hundreds of white and gold ceramic fish hangs about the lounge seating area.
    Kristin Braswell, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • What being Southern meant to his father—and the values Duane associates with being a Southern gentleman.
    Sid Evans, Southern Living, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The productivity boom everyone associates with the personal computer didn’t actually show up in the macro data until 15 years after the PC was commercialized.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 July 2026
Verb
  • Tony contains details directly pulled from Kitchen Confidential, including a memorable moment in which one of the cooks (Leo Woodall) hooks up with a bride who visits the restaurant immediately following her own wedding.
    Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026
  • And Cody still comes out before the season starts and takes BP, hooks up the kids with some Nike stuff.
    Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • Jones, who is from Boise, Idaho, learned about a program through his internship supervisor that connects people with extra rooms in their homes with other adults looking for a place to live.
    Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Launched in 2023, her app connects users for in-person group activities like yoga and language exchanges, simplifying the process of forming new friendships.
    Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The mop-haired actor plays Joey, a spunky boy onboard who bonds with Maddie over having absent parents in the military.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Nigel Starck, too, argues that obituaries provide a glue that bonds society not in grief but in an aspirational reevaluation of our own lives.
    Sam Roberts, Longreads, 11 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Messes around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messes%20around. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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