as in fiddling (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
pottering around indoors on a rainy day
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pottering (around)
Verb
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Spending time reading with, singing with, or playing games with close pals and family is at the heart of Danish happiness and hygge-ness.—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026 -
Karen was last seen playing outside her home on January 11, 1996, according to CNN affiliate KOLD.—
Elise Hammond,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Morgan had been messing around with a curveball, but didn’t actually throw it until a workout at Petco Park a week before the draft.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
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Advertisement Soon afterward, however, at a Red Bull event in Austria, Goepper began messing around on a quarterpipe.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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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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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Cite this Entry
“Pottering (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pottering%20%28around%29. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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