PUTTERING (AROUND) Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

puttering (around)

verb

present participle of putter (around)

as in fiddling (around)

to spend time in aimless activity I spent all weekend at home just puttering around

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for puttering (around)

Verb

In catching 12 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns against Illinois Saturday, Smith again looked like the high school star playing against ninth graders on the JV team.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026
Ukraine eliminated two-time defending champion Italy in the semifinals and was playing its first final.

— ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of playing

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

Definition of fooling around

Verb

There will be no more messing around with draggy eye pencils or the emperor’s new eye shadows.

— Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026
Both of France’s sons seem to appreciate imaginative play over messing around with action figures, something that makes perfect sense given France’s own love for the arts.

— Marah Eakin, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of messing 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
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

Definition of hanging about

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putterers

puttering (around)

putters (around)

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“Puttering (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puttering%20%28around%29. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of puttering (around)

verb

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