to mess about
7
5.9
- phrasal verb
- UK
- Stop messing about.
- Stop messing about
- doesn't mess about
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Watch on YouTubeI still didn't want it, that I still weren't strong, you know, I was still messing about.
- I still didn't want it, that I still weren't strong, you know, I was still messing about.
- Liverpool got after them, played forward, didn't play out, mess about trying to be clever, passing it across the back, losing.
- And I used to mess about a little bit and we've got man's up Jack Dalton.
- But, and I think people are getting suppressed, but if you're going to mess about because what did Apple do a few days ago before the tariffs came in?
Examples
-
Instead of studying, she ended up messing about with her friends all afternoon.
-
And, honestly, Vic, she spends more time in that cloakroom messing about with her face than anyone I know.
-
I had to stop messing about and straight myself out.
-
Like, I love it, but I need to stop messing about and actually cook this food.
-
Ken, stop messing about, please.
-
They were just messing about.
-
Stop messing about, guys!
-
I don't know what the hell he's doing these days, messing about in flower beds.
-
I gave up pure mathematics after the first year, and then, more recently, I've been messing about with antiaircraft rockets.
-
He doesn't mess about.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
371
1.1
To spend time sitting and doing very little without a clear purpose
334
2.0
To stay in a place without doing anything important
148
3.6
Act in a silly, playful way instead of working
133
4.1
To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities
104
9.9
To waste time or act carelessly
34
2.7
To sit or lie in a place and relax
33
5.4
To stand or wait in a place without a clear reason
17
3.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
8
6.2
To spend time doing little or nothing instead of working
8
5.3
To move around a place without a clear reason, often in a group
7
3.8
To relax and do very little
7
7.3
Waste time by acting silly instead of working
6
9.5
To waste time instead of doing the work you need
6
8.4
To spend time doing not important things in a relaxed way
6
4.4
To stay in a place without a clear reason
5
6.5
To spend time doing small, not important tasks slowly without a clear plan
4
8.7
To spend time doing things that are not important
4
7.9
Spend time doing very little or nothing
2
9.2
To spend time doing small unimportant things instead of working
2
8.7
To waste time doing small unimportant things
2
9.9
To waste time doing unimportant or silly things instead of doing something important
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
1
3.4
To spend time lazily doing little or nothing
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
8.6
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
1
9.9
Move around without a clear plan or purpose
1
9.9
To waste time instead of doing something useful
1
8.6
To spend time doing very little and moving around without plans
1
8.6
Spend time or money on unimportant things
1
9.3
Move around without a plan to have fun
1
9.9
To waste time on small unimportant things
1
9.9
To waste time doing silly or lazy things instead of useful work
Antonyms
How Idle
670
1.6
- Informal
19
7.7
- UK
7
5.9
- Informal
334
2.0
17
5.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to spend time doing nothing in particular' is directly derivable from combining 'mess' (to act carelessly or playfully) with 'about' (around/in the area); together they denote aimless or idle activity. This verb+particle pattern is common in English and has clear parallels in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Mess about comes from the image of someone making a little mess while moving about with no plan or purpose. So it means 'to spend time doing nothing in particular'.