to putter around
5
6.5
- phrasal verb
- /ˈpʌtər əˈraʊnd/
- Informal
:
trastear
- And I'm just like, puttering around the house, organizing, filing your socks, filing my socks, you know, winnowing the book.
- puttered around the house
- puttered around the kitchen
- puttered around the garden
I was just putting around the house and you said you got to listen to this album.
- I was just putting around the house and you said you got to listen to this album.
- And I'm just like, puttering around the house, organizing, filing your socks, filing my socks, you know, winnowing the book.
- You can show off what you're doing at any of these, these gyms going in and, and, you know, puttering around and, and, or even being serious and really applying yourself.
Examples
-
She's always puttering around.
-
She hummed a nonsense piece in German while Douglas puttered around the house looking for something to fix.
Fiction book (1998) -
Sam said I could putter around a little bit.
-
I was pretty busy puttering around the apartment.
-
I mean, how many times can you putter around the garden?
-
I work, and my husband putters around the house.
-
So he puttered around the apartment.
Fiction book (2002) -
I was puttering around in the little wooded corner of my lot the other day.
Blog text (31) -
She heard Richie puttering around in the kitchen.
Fiction book (1993) -
On sunny afternoons, I like to putter around in the garden, enjoying the fresh air.
Synonyms
379
1.3
Move around without a fixed direction, often slowly and in curves
350
1.1
To spend time sitting and doing very little without a clear purpose
214
1.7
To go on foot in a place without a clear purpose, often for pleasure
111
4.1
To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities
46
3.6
Act in a silly, playful way instead of working
43
3.7
To spend time doing nothing useful
14
4.4
To walk for pleasure without a fixed route
11
7.0
To spend time doing small, not important jobs in a relaxed way
7
5.3
To move around a place without a clear reason, often in a group
5
3.8
To relax and do very little
4
6.9
To walk around without a clear purpose
4
7.3
Waste time by acting silly instead of working
3
9.0
To move around places for pleasure without a plan
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
8.6
To spend time doing very little and moving around without plans
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
6.5
To spend time slowly doing small simple jobs without hurry
1
3.4
To spend time lazily doing little or nothing
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
1
6.5
To move around slowly doing small jobs in no hurry
1
9.9
Walk slowly without a clear plan and enjoy the view
1
9.9
Move around without a clear plan or purpose
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 doing silly or lazy things instead of useful work
To travel slowly without a clear plan
Walk around slowly without a plan
To spend time doing small unimportant things with no real plan
To act in a silly, playful way instead of being serious
Move around without a plan to have fun
Antonyms
How Productive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'putter' (to do small, idle tasks) combined with 'around' (moving about aimlessly) yields the idea of occupying oneself in an unhurried, purposeless way. This verb+particle pattern and the semantic contribution of each constituent make the phrase immediately inferable to a learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Putter around likely comes from the small 'putt-putt' sound of a slow engine or tool and the picture of someone moving slowly and doing little jobs here and there. So, to putter around means 'to busy yourself in a slow, aimless way' rather than working with a clear plan.