as in fiddling (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
pottering around indoors on a rainy day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pottering (around)
Verb
-
Tell me about playing the 9-year-old version of your character and the adult version.—
Brande Victorian,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2026 -
Back healthy from her rehab, expectations are high for the Stanford standout, who also stayed busy during the offseason playing in the Unrivaled league.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
Jesse Kardon has come a long way from his days as a teenager messing around with Ableton in his bedroom.—
Christine Terrisse,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Following the global success of The Housemaid, Lionsgate is not messing around with its upcoming sequel.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
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.
Cite this Entry
“Pottering (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pottering%20%28around%29. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
