mess about
phrasal verb
messed about; messing about; messes about
British, informal
1
: to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious : to waste time
We just messed about all afternoon.
She spent the evening messing about on the computer.
It's time we stopped messing about and got busy.
2
: to have sex with someone who is not one's husband, wife, or regular partner
His wife discovered that he was messing about (on her).
—often + withHer husband discovered that she was messing about with her assistant.
Examples of mess about in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Let our cool movie play at Toronto and stop messing about with a rubbish defamation suit against me!
—
Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 13 July 2024
Even with the start of the race bumped up a half-hour, New Hampshire was a mess about from the moment the green flag was dropped.
—Dan Gelston, Orlando Sentinel, 24 June 2024
The song started initially about six years ago of Lu messing about.
—Steve Appleford, Spin, 22 Aug. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 13 July 2024
Even with the start of the race bumped up a half-hour, New Hampshire was a mess about from the moment the green flag was dropped.
—Dan Gelston, Orlando Sentinel, 24 June 2024
The song started initially about six years ago of Lu messing about.
—Steve Appleford, Spin, 22 Aug. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near mess about
Cite this Entry
“Mess about.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20about. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share