1
as in to clown (around)
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
stop monkeying around in the house or you'll break something
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to goof (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
would rather just monkey around instead of doing work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkey (around)
Verb
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Running or horsing around with sparklers can also cause injuries and burns when users trip and fall.—
Justin Laube,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 July 2025 -
Heath Ryan, who represented Australia in dressage at the 2008 Olympics, can be seen in the video – which the rider said is about two years old – hitting a horse around 40 times.—
Matias Grez,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
Verb
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A couple plays later, Starks rolled to his right and connected with a wide open CJ Neely in the back of the end zone to give the Bison an early 7-0 lead.—
Jayden Gonzalez,
Miami Herald,
31 Aug. 2025
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Tyler Soderstrom started at first base in his place after playing there when Kurtz left Friday’s contest.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
31 Aug. 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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The highlight of his night was a quick-out, in which Jefferson made the initial defender miss, then cut up field, hit his top gear and went 65 yards to the house for a score.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
23 Aug. 2025
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Simply cut up a few different fruits and place them on a skewer.—
Carrie Madormo,
Verywell Health,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Of course, there’s a little showing off, too, along with the do-gooding.—
Eric D. Lawrence,
USA Today,
24 Aug. 2025
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The city’s old churches, many still active houses of worship today, show off the city’s architectural variety, too.—
Jennifer Stewart Kornegay,
Southern Living,
23 Aug. 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
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Cite this Entry
“Monkey (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkey%20%28around%29. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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