1
as in fiddling (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flirting
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 traveling
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 messing around
So, get ready to travel to Sweden for a taste of adolescence full of smiles, tears, dancing, messing around – and skateboards.
—
Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Guerin has a history of going straight to his final offer — not messing around.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Morgan had been messing around with a curveball, but didn’t actually throw it until a workout at Petco Park a week before the draft.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Advertisement Soon afterward, however, at a Red Bull event in Austria, Goepper began messing around on a quarterpipe.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 18 Feb. 2026
Most people are messing around charging far too little for clients who don't appreciate them.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
No messing around — just wham, bam, thank you, GLAM!
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2026
Miami’s defense isn’t messing around The Hurricanes defense has rattled Julian Sayin.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
Apple isn't messing around with this update.
—PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 Mar. 2026
Guerin has a history of going straight to his final offer — not messing around.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Morgan had been messing around with a curveball, but didn’t actually throw it until a workout at Petco Park a week before the draft.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026
Advertisement Soon afterward, however, at a Red Bull event in Austria, Goepper began messing around on a quarterpipe.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 18 Feb. 2026
Most people are messing around charging far too little for clients who don't appreciate them.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
No messing around — just wham, bam, thank you, GLAM!
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2026
Miami’s defense isn’t messing around The Hurricanes defense has rattled Julian Sayin.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
Apple isn't messing around with this update.
—PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messing around
Verb
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Gadiaga plays bass throughout BabyGoated—most prominently on the title track’s deep groove, an insistent bassline flirting with Afrobeat—but her honey-sweet voice is the star here.—
Lily Goldberg,
Pitchfork,
19 Mar. 2026
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Swimming and flirting with boys in a river stream after school.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The juvenile was operating a Magnum Cosmo e-bike, with another male juvenile riding as a passenger, and traveling northbound on Remington Way through the intersection with Allenwood Drive when the boy lost control and skidded to the ground, police said.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
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For Christians in medieval and early modern Europe, traveling overland and by sea to reach the Holy Land took time and means, and the journey involved many perils.—
Sarah Kozlowski,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Kevin MacEgan, the couple’s eldest son, said his parents were victimized in this manner because of the choices made by Abril — and by the CHP, to approach Abril in a park filled with children playing baseball and other visitors.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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After playing baseball in college and a short stint in the minors, Jerry Lewis started his own business to help other aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly those who had been incarcerated or in gangs, to launch their own companies, his son said.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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All have denied any wrongdoing or seeing anything untoward on their visits, and many have expressed regret at associating with Epstein.—
Isabelle Chapman,
CNN Money,
13 Mar. 2026
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But for the most part, your brain gets used to it despite associating the aesthetic with chaos and momentum.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But rumors of the fellow 305ers hooking up were squashed over the weekend, as per Page Six.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
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Half of MomTok, led by Jessi, spent the previous evening reading Dakota the riot act for hooking up with a friend of Taylor’s.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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He was last seen running near the outdoor gear store Cabela's, but investigators learned the suspect fled the complex in an unknown direction.—
Frederick Sutton Sinclair,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
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Habba denied running it, while DOJ forcefully defended its view that Trump has the final say on who leads these offices.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In 2019, city employees began hanging about 500 trick-or-treat pumpkin buckets in the trees on Main Street every October.—
Elliott Harrell,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Oct. 2025
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Orion Nebula Those viewing from a dark sky location may also notice a blurry patch of light hanging about 5 degrees below Orion's belt.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Messing around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messing%20around. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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