1
as in plays
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 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
as in travels
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 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
Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messes around
Verb
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Air service plays an outsize role in the nation's most expansive state, where most communities rely on flights for year-round access.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Everyone plays a role The week before spring break was a special-occasion-puzzle Friday with a cookie prize for the first girl and first boy to answer correctly.—
Mary Divine,
Twin Cities,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While waiting for flights to resume, Charli’s character Bethany flirts with the idea of blowing up her life by rekindling a romance with an old friend who owns a flower shop in Warsaw.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
10 Feb. 2026
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Delivered with an ease that flirts with comedy, it can be taken as humor punctuating drama.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Other times, Overbey said, open heart surgery patients may develop endocarditis later, sometimes years after surgery, through an outside infection that travels to the heart.—
Emily Brindley
Health Reporter,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Iran has threatened to strike any ship that travels through the strait that isn't carrying Iranian oil, with some limited exceptions.—
Saige Miller,
NPR,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Greene’s heart-to-heart media tour has been jarring liberals and anyone else who associates her with conspiratorial beliefs and outrageous comments.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
21 Nov. 2025
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Everyone associates that with us.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Nike consistently hooks up the University of Oregon‘s athletic programs with exclusive sneakers because of their longstanding relationship, and the newest spoils to emerge come via Nike’s most futuristic new basketball sneaker.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
9 Mar. 2026
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The sprayer hooks up to the water heater on the spare tire swing-out, fed by the dual-tank 200-L underbody fresh water system.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Gold Line also connects with Woodbury’s Metro Micro service, and in 2027 the BRT will extend to downtown Minneapolis, adding close to an additional 10 miles to the route.—
Talia McWright,
Twin Cities,
21 Mar. 2026
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Inside the kitchen connects to an extensive service wing that includes four staff bedrooms.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Tekton bonds the body together into a seamless, self-supporting monocoque optimized for thermal and leakproof integrity.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Guess what bonds that group together?—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Messes around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messes%20around. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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