mess around
Third Person
messes around
Present Participle
messing around
Past Tense
messed around
Past Participle
messed around
1
to waste time or engage in idle, unproductive activity
- Instead of studying, he chose to mess around on social media for hours.
- While I was studying, my roommate was messing around and playing video games.
- Yesterday, we messed around at the park instead of finishing our project.
- If you keep messing around, you'll never finish your work on time.
- He messed around all weekend and didn't complete any of his chores.
2
to cause problems for someone, especially by being dishonest or unfair
- Be cautious with him; he tends to mess around with people's feelings.
- I don't want to mess you around, but there's been a misunderstanding about your role in the project.
- The dishonest salesperson is known for messing around with customers' trust.
- He constantly messes around with her feelings, giving mixed signals.
- I hate to mess you around, but the project deadline has been moved up by a week.
3
to engage in playful or mischievous behavior, often in a way that is not intended to cause harm or offense
- On weekends, they often mess around, joking and playing pranks on each other.
- We decided to mess around at the park, playing games and enjoying each other's company.
- He messes around in the office, lightening the mood with his humor.
- Right now, the kids are messing around in the backyard, playing with water balloons.
- The students were messing around in the classroom, enjoying a break from studying.
4
to engage in casual sexual activity with someone, often without commitment or emotional attachment
- The friends decided to mess around after several drinks at the bar.
- The couple messed around on the beach during their vacation.
- They messed around in the back seat of the car on their first date.
- The two coworkers messed around with each other after staying late at the office.
- The two strangers messed around after meeting at a bar and exchanged numbers.