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monkey (around)

verb

Definition of monkey (around)next
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)
  1. horse around
  2. play
  3. fool around
  4. hang about
  5. cut up
  6. show off
Verb
  • Also, don’t get too out of control horsing around with friends in the water.
    — John Natale, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026
  • According to McGrady, the only royal who didn’t enjoy the time away in the Highlands was the late Princess Diana, who didn’t fit in with the family’s outdoorsy vibes and didn’t enjoy riding horses around the property due to a fall as a child.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of horse around
Verb
  • Her Eras show doc lost its awards last weekend, and the Chiefs play the Broncos tonight, but that didn’t stop people from speculating.
    — Vulture Staff, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The only—passing—exception is the man who plays Calamawy’s young colleague at one point; and his lines seem to be dubbed with the help of AI.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of play
Verb
  • As Marshall and Alice consider one another and then start to fool around, the sequence feels organic and dangerous without being forced.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Another horny couple on vacation couldn’t wait until their flight landed to fool around and insisted on doing so in the plane's cabin.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Definition of fool around
Verb
  • President James Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau, died by hanging about five months after he was convicted of murder.
    — USA Today, USA Today, 17 June 2026
  • On Monday, May 18, a 7%-illuminated crescent will hang about two degrees from Venus, with Jupiter about 20 degrees above.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 15 May 2026
Definition of hang about
Verb
  • Later, it was prevented from being cut up to decorate a carnival float.
    — Lauren Frayer, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
  • One reason being that the videographer kept cutting up [a slab of] meat for the castle owner.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of cut up
Verb
  • Kienholz showed off his mobility both as a runner and passer, effectively threw to all levels of the field and made clutch play after clutch play in the second half.
    — Antonio Morales, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The bush is deciduous but shows off gold, orange, and red fall color.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of show off
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.

Browse Nearby Words

monkey
monkey (around)
monkey business
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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 17 Sep. 2026.

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