monkey around

verb

To act foolishly.

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monkey aboutputtermess aroundpottertinkermonkeymuck aboutmuck around
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Meanings

verbmonkey around (third-person singular simple present monkeys around, present participle monkeying around, simple past and past participle monkeyed around)

present singular third person monkeys around · participle present monkeying around · participle past monkeyed around · past monkeyed around

  1. idiomaticinformalintransitiveTo act foolishly.

    I wanna be a man, mancub / And stroll right into town / And be just like the other men / I'm tired of monkeyin' around!

    1967, Robert Bernard Sherman, Richard Morton Sherman, “I Wan’na Be like You (The Monkey Song)”, in The Jungle Book, performed by Louis Prima and Phil Harris

    Synonyms: monkey about

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo act foolishly.

Similar
monkey about

More synonyms by meaning

verbdo random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly

Similar
puttermess aroundpottertinkermonkeymuck aboutmuck around
Broader
work
Also see
mess aroundmonkeymonkey aboutmuck aboutmuck aroundpotterputtertinker

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 胡鬧 /胡闹
  • 胡鬧 /胡闹 (húnào)to act foolishly
Finnish temppuilla
  • temppuillato act foolishly
French faire le singe
  • faire le singeto act foolishly
German herumalbern, Unfug treiben
  • herumalbernto act foolishly
  • Unfug treibento act foolishly
Māori mākahi
  • mākahito act foolishly
Cite this entry
APA

monkey around. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20around

MLA

“monkey around.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20around. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monkey around,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monkey%20around.

Source: monkey around on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.