1
as in plays
to spend time in aimless activity
spent the vacation day just messing around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flirts
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 travels
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 messes around
Other standouts include a Maybelline mascara and a Black and Decker handheld vacuum, which makes quick work of small messes around the house and in the car.
—
Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for messes around
Verb
-
In the dance, Barnes plays a library page on her lunch hour who has to deliver five research requests to patrons.—
Naaman Zhou,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Making plays often for his teammates, Banchero added six assists, but turned the ball over five times.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
While waiting for flights to resume, Charli’s character Bethany flirts with the idea of blowing up her life by rekindling a romance with an old friend who owns a flower shop in Warsaw.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Delivered with an ease that flirts with comedy, it can be taken as humor punctuating drama.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But as her eyes sweep down the front bricks and over the double-length drapes covering what is likely their parlor room, a chill travels through her.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The Amex Business Platinum has a stronger suite of luxury travel perks and is better suited for anyone who travels frequently and can fully take advantage of its best perks.—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Greene’s heart-to-heart media tour has been jarring liberals and anyone else who associates her with conspiratorial beliefs and outrageous comments.—
Erin Mansfield,
USA Today,
21 Nov. 2025
-
Everyone associates that with us.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Kimbo also hooks up a standard electrical system with 2-kWh, 12-V lithium battery, 240-W Renogy solar panel setup, integrated wiring and shore power hookup.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Nike consistently hooks up the University of Oregon‘s athletic programs with exclusive sneakers because of their longstanding relationship, and the newest spoils to emerge come via Nike’s most futuristic new basketball sneaker.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That network connects large telescope dishes in California, Australia and Spain that cooperate to keep in touch with spacecraft beyond Earth’s orbit.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Flooding has also shut the Salang Pass, a high mountain pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range that connects Kabul to the country’s north, including the major cities of Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif.—
Abdul Qahar Afghan,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Tekton bonds the body together into a seamless, self-supporting monocoque optimized for thermal and leakproof integrity.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Guess what bonds that group together?—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Though the sisters are supposedly first-generation Italian American, no whiff of the old country hangs about Kay; Dorothy will at least spit out a few words in Italian.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Turquoise pearl, and azure line the space, and a cylindrical hanging light sculpture made of hundreds of white and gold ceramic fish hangs about the lounge seating area.—
Kristin Braswell,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Messes around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/messes%20around. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
