1
as in horsed around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
quit fooling around on the jungle gym, or you'll get hurt
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2
as in played
to spend time in aimless activity
we fooled around outdoors for a while, then went in to get some work done
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Recent Examples of fooled around
Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects.
—
Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooled around
Verb
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Chris Sanon, the Orlando area’s leader in sacks a year ago, played well in his move to linebacker from edge rusher.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 May 2026
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He’s only played in four major championships in his career.—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
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In the photos, the former teammates are seen celebrating wins on the court, relaxing on vacation and cutting up during practice.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
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Because the rings were found intact and not cut up for currency, this suggests they were not used for trade but instead served a symbolic purpose, likely decorative, communicating status, wealth, and power.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
Verb
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An astronaut was interviewed beside someone in a spacesuit, and a team from Carnegie Mellon showed off some sort of handstanding robotic dog.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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Jack Plummer continues to be one of the league's best quarterbacks, and showed off his rushing skills with a 71-yard score against Dallas.—
Jacob Camenker,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
Verb
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In the email, Dixon suggested that the fire department employee may have messed around with the department's equipment.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And of course, Peterson not playing would have made some wonder if the McDonald’s All-American’s hamstring had acted up again.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
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That bill's kicked around on the House's calendar for a few weeks now.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2026
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People were kicked around in the pit, pancaked at the front of the stage, and the crowd surfing had a 90% fail rate.—
Deborah Sengupta Stith,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fooled around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooled%20around. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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