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
Relevance
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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He's played Dante Falconeri on the soap since 2009 and has appeared in over 1,600 episodes as the mob boss.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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Betts made a Gold Glove finalist-worthy play for the first out – ranging into the hole to make a backhand play then a jump throw to first.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
17 Oct. 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 boat therefore needed metal or plastic cages installed around the engines, so that the diver wouldn’t get accidentally cut up by their blades — and finding a boat and then the right cages fit onto the boat would take time.—
Samanth Subramanian,
The Dial,
14 Oct. 2025
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Techniques like this have been around for some time, but Micro-C uses an enzyme that can cut up DNA more finely than before.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That journey resulted in plenty of dishes that show off the bold flavors of the region.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
16 Oct. 2025
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Bar Italia are definitely not shy about showing off their moody rock influences — a little Slowdive, a lot of the Cure, plenty of the Velvets and Spacemen 3 and Sonic Youth.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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The student was found hanging about 50 feet up in a tree with the open chute, Metro Nashville Police Department said on X Saturday.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
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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 20 Oct. 2025.
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