mess around

present singular third person messes around · participle present messing around · participle past messed around · past messed around

1. informalTo fiddle idly.

   These guys don't mess around! They finished the whole job in ten minutes.

   1 more example

   The kids sat there messing around with leaves and blades of grass because they were bored.

   Synonyms: faff about, dick around, waste time

2. informalTo joke, kid, or play.

   Hey, don't take it personally. I was only messing around.

   1 more example

   Don't mess around with electricity if you don't understand it.

3. informalTo have a sexual relationship, especially one which is noncommittal.

   Rumor has it that he's messing around with his secretary.

   1 more example

   She grew up as the pretty young thing / Let them look up her skirt on the backyard swing, oh no / And Daddy told you to stay indoors / And I can understand how a girl gets bored / Too old to play and too young to mess around

   2016, Lucy Dacus, “Troublemaker Doppelgänger”, in No Burden, Matador Records

4. datedslangAfrican-American VernacularTo dance.