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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Besides Adebayo, Miami’s only other available center was two-way contract player Vlad Goldin, who arrived from a G-League assignment but did not play.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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The three titles that were won with fewer than 90 points were wrapped up with at least three games still to play, which led to an easing off in the final weeks.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 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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Airlines also continue to cancel flights nationwide to meet FAA demands to cut up to 10% of flights within the next week.—
Michael Salerno,
AZCentral.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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The chicken, now cut up into small pieces at the lunch hour, soaks up the broth and packs an even more flavorful punch.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Pair it with the burgundy leather trousers, based on our ski pants, with the calf zips open to show off a good pair of boots.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
6 Nov. 2025
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Jana, who is the oldest Duggar daughter, and Wissmann could be seen kissing in one photo and showing off Jana's growing bump in another.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The hot air just hangs about, causing the dish to cook unevenly with some spots nearly raw and others burnt.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Nov. 2025
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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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Cite this Entry
“Monkey (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkey%20%28around%29. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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