to fool
233
1.8
- verb
- /fuːl/
- Informal
:
tontear
- Okay, everyone, enough fooling around.
- just fooling
I was drinking, fooling around with a bunch of bad things, bad people, making poor choices.
- I was drinking, fooling around with a bunch of bad things, bad people, making poor choices.
- Don't give a damn, Luca, don't give like they fooling.
- Well, I saw stuff with with some cousins that that I had that were kind of fooling around with other people.
- You see, every man loves it when his woman rolls over unprompted and initiates fooling around in bed.
Examples
-
You get in here and you play, you fool around with others.
Academic text (2010) -
Stop fooling around, will ya?
-
The student cannot set up equipment and fool around at the same time.
Academic text (1990) -
I think they are playing, fooling around with what they know nothing about.
Academic text (1996) -
We've had nice runs at night, and some fun going out and fooling around.
Fiction book (1994) -
You fooling around with those damn planes all the time, Bernie.
-
Let's not fool around during the meeting; we need to focus on the agenda.
-
When they started to fool around, the teacher quickly reminded them to stay on task.
-
She was just fooling around at the party, making everyone laugh with her silly antics.
Synonyms
46
3.6
Act in a silly, playful way instead of working
9
4.8
To act silly and playful to make people laugh
7
6.3
To play loudly and roughly in a silly way, often when it is not appropriate
7
4.6
Act in a silly way to make others laugh or avoid being serious
3
8.0
To behave in a silly or embarrassing way to get attention
1
9.9
To waste time doing silly or lazy things instead of useful work
1
9.9
Act in a foolish, annoying way instead of being serious
Behave in a silly, clumsy way
To waste time, money, or chances by being careless
Act in a silly or stupid way
Act in a foolish, clumsy way
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
How Silly
Surface Forms
Etymology
Fool meaning 'to play or be silly' comes from acting like a fool — joking, teasing, or wasting time — so to fool about is to behave in a playful or careless way instead of being serious.