mess around

verb

Definition of mess aroundnext
1
as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity spent the vacation day just messing around

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to flirt
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun a guy who goes to the health club mainly to mess around with the women

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to travel
to come or be together as friends if you continue to mess around with such narrow-minded boobs, you'll begin to think and act like them

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of mess around After last year’s underwhelming trade deadline, Hoyer’s front office did not mess around. — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Having worked in the public health sector for most of her career, my mom does not mess around with germs. — Anna Popp, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2026 His first two features were loose, low-budget films starring himself and made by messing around with friends; they were built on spontaneity and the belief that a movie reveals itself in the edit. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026 That sounds way better than messing around with a complex spider web of pole segments, elastic cords, sleeves and clips. — New Atlas, 9 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for mess around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mess around
  1. play
  2. flirt
  3. travel
  4. fool around
  5. associate
  6. hang about
  7. run
  8. kick around
Verb
  • Investments in big-name stars did not pan out, including a seven-year, $245 million deal for Anthony Rendon that had to be restructured and will end after this season, with Rendon playing just 257 games for the franchise and none since 2024.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Rumors have circulated that Stan may be playing Harvey Dent, the district attorney who eventually becomes the villainous Two-Face and was previously portrayed by Aaron Eckhart, Tommy Lee Jones, and Billy Dee Williams.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of play
Verb
  • However, with Martinez pushing to leave again and flirting with Juventus, Villa decided to grant him his wish and brought in Zion Suzuki from Parma as his replacement.
    — David Ornstein, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Parton’s version of glamour wasn’t afraid to flirt with bad taste.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of flirt
Verb
  • Against all odds, Nene takes the road less traveled and apologizes.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
  • From a design-forward city escape to an eco-friendly island retreat (and a uniquely historic getaway coming soon), discover what Patina can offer globe-trotters interested in a transformative way of traveling through life and through the world.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of travel
Verb
  • As Marshall and Alice consider one another and then start to fool around, the sequence feels organic and dangerous without being forced.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Another horny couple on vacation couldn’t wait until their flight landed to fool around and insisted on doing so in the plane's cabin.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Definition of fool around
Verb
  • Getting that apparently trivial behavior working involved Home Assistant, MQTT, custom software, and more Claude, Codex and ChatGPT tokens than one should reasonably associate with boiling pasta.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The team believes that the approach could reduce wasted heat and also eliminate emissions associated with burning fossil fuels in cement kilns.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of associate
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
  • On Monday, May 18, a 7%-illuminated crescent will hang about two degrees from Venus, with Jupiter about 20 degrees above.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 15 May 2026
Definition of hang about
Verb
  • Stone ran for three touchdowns, including an 85-yarder late in the first half.
    — Mike McGraw, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Sebold’s was the third such attack in Thornden Park, which runs alongside the campus, in about seven months.
    — Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of run
Verb
  • The fantasy of a cultural architecture that’s as flexible as culture itself has been kicking around for more than 100 years, and there’s something obscurely disappointing about seeing a technocratic version get put into practice.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 29 July 2026
  • Within the venue gates but outside the stands, groups of friends were playing cornhole and having picnic dinners from food trucks parked onsite; older attendees were chatting and kids were kicking around mini soccer balls.
    — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 7 July 2026
Definition of kick around

Browse Nearby Words

messaging
mess around
messed
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Cite this Entry

“Mess around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mess%20around. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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