1
as in to horse around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
quit fooling around on the jungle gym, or you'll get hurt
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to play
to spend time in aimless activity
we fooled around outdoors for a while, then went in to get some work done
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fool around
While Mark and Helly were fooling around, Helly wasn’t fulfilling her promise to go get the directions Irving left tucked behind Dylan’s motivational poster.
—
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
While the siblings have the habit of getting into troubles and to only use their creative skills to fool around, Michael sees in them a real talent.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Players were in a dorm room fooling around with a gun.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2024
Why fool around with a convention that everyone understood and practiced?
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
While the siblings have the habit of getting into troubles and to only use their creative skills to fool around, Michael sees in them a real talent.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Players were in a dorm room fooling around with a gun.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2024
Why fool around with a convention that everyone understood and practiced?
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool around
Verb
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Four people are facing charges in Louisiana for horsing around in a small-town Walmart last week. Video that was posted on TikTok and went viral on social media showed three men and a teenage boy riding horses through the business in Baker, Louisiana.—
Elizabeth Pritchett,
FOXNews.com,
16 Apr. 2025
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Quit horsing around — the Clydesdales are back!—
Breanne L. Heldman,
People.com,
10 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Both Earps and Hampton have played a very similar number of minutes and faced a very similar number of shots, but Earps’ shot-stopping has not been as strong, conceding 1.6 goals more than expected, based on the quality of shots faced.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
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Baty plays second base on days when Vientos starts at the hot corner, and Vientos gets DH days to get Baty at third.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
28 May 2025
Verb
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The mower can cut up to a full acre on a single charge.—
Christopher Murray
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2025
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Old towels cut up into rags do a great job of removing this soft flux once the copper pipe is cool enough to touch.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
31 May 2025
Verb
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Kim Kardashian's oldest daughter North West has a new look The 11-year-old showed off her vibrant blue hair on her mom's Instagram account Kardashian shares her four kids with ex-husband, Kanye West Kim Kardashian's oldest daughter has a brand new look.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
6 June 2025
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Most recently, Porter showed off his vocal chops as Gumball in season 11 of The Masked Singer, ultimately coming in second place behind his Bandslam (2009) costar Vanessa Hudgens.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
5 June 2025
Verb
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Nothing major, but enough messing around to worsen his problems.—
Charlotte Varnes,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
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Apple iPad Deals Apple, its iPads, and its discounts don't mess around.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
26 May 2025
Verb
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Most asteroids hang about in the Mars to Jupiter region, and the ones near Earth obviously hang about a bit closer.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
2 Oct. 2024
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Most asteroids hang about in the Mars to Jupiter region, and the ones near Earth obviously hang about a bit closer.—
Dana Taylor,
USA TODAY,
2 Oct. 2024
Verb
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For the first time, Tindall had to act up without his partner over these past two weeks, with Graeme Jones, his fellow assistant, deputising alongside him.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
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Is his palm injury acting up again, or the pressure to join the elite company of Jack Nicklaus, who won 3 times at The PLAYERS Championship?—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This is a budget request, likely to be debated and revised and kicked around the halls of Congress before its done.—
Peter Greene,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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Brazilian megastar Wagner Moura, who’s spent the last few years kicking around American productions like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Civil War, and Dope Thief, will play Marcelo, a man on the run who hopes to use the cover of Carnival to link up with his son.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
13 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fool around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool%20around. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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