to bum about
2
8.6
- phrasal verb
- /bʌm əˈbaʊt/
- UK
:
vaguear
- On weekends, I like to bum about the park and enjoy the fresh air.
Examples
-
In other news, I am kind of bummed about the cancellation of David Garrigues' Mysore session tomorrow due to an unavoidable circumstance.
Blog text (15) -
After finishing his homework, he decided to bum about the house instead of going out.
-
Man, I'm still bummed about the hog game even though I didn't expect a win.
Blog text (15) -
They often bum about the beach, soaking up the sun without a care in the world.
Synonyms
888
1.5
Spend time without any activity
350
1.1
To spend time sitting and doing very little without a clear purpose
111
4.1
To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities
43
3.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
11
7.0
To spend time doing small, not important jobs in a relaxed way
7
6.2
To spend time doing little or nothing instead of working
5
7.0
To sit or lie in a lazy, relaxed way
5
7.9
To waste time by delaying when you should act
5
6.5
To spend time doing small, not important tasks slowly without a clear plan
5
3.8
To relax and do very little
4
5.8
To do nothing while you wait for something to happen
4
7.3
Waste time by acting silly instead of working
3
5.9
To spend time somewhere doing nothing special
3
7.9
Spend time doing very little or nothing
3
8.4
To spend time doing not important things in a relaxed way
2
9.9
To sit and do nothing instead of working
2
7.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
2
9.5
To waste time instead of doing the work you need
1
8.7
To waste time doing small unimportant things
1
9.2
To spend time doing small unimportant things instead of working
1
8.7
To spend time doing things that are not important
1
3.4
To spend time lazily doing little or nothing
1
7.7
To spend time doing nothing and not working
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
1
3.2
To spend time doing nothing
1
9.9
To waste time doing silly or lazy things instead of useful work
1
6.5
To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry
1
6.5
To spend time doing nothing in a lazy way
1
9.9
To waste time doing unimportant or silly things instead of doing something important
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
To waste time instead of working
Spend time or money on unimportant things
To pass time by doing something not useful while you wait
To waste time on small unimportant things
To waste time instead of doing something useful
To spend time on things that are not useful
To behave lazily and avoid work or responsibility
How Idle
- Informal
1
6.3
- UK
2
8.6
26
5.4
12
2.7
- UK
1
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to spend time lazily or idle aimlessly' is directly derivable from combining 'bum' (to idle or loiter) with 'about' (around/around a nearby area). The verb + about pattern is a productive, transparent English construction (cf. 'hang about', 'mess about'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Bum about comes from the image of a bum (a person who does not work) wandering about with no plan. That's why it means 'to spend time lazily or do nothing productive'.