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Showing results for mess around.
Definitions

mess around

VERB
fiddle; goof off
Synonyms
WEAK
amuse oneself dabble dawdle doodle fool around loiter muck around play play around play the fool potter puddle putter tinker trifle
Antonyms
WEAK
labor toil work

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Those Creoles don’t mess around with their potato salad.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

"Alan makes a good point about how everyone wants to mess around on the ball these days," Sutton explained.

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2025

“We have an ironclad rule at IMAX, which is that our word is our word and we won’t mess around with that,” the CEO said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

That's where the treasure is, when you can mess around with that edge and see where it is.

From Salon • Sep. 18, 2024

And when Mr. Larson squinted and rubbed his hands together and said, “It’s like we get to mess around in our own private democracy laboratory!” even Cara had to smile.

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements