mess around with (something)
idiom
informal
1
: to use or do (something) in a way that is not very serious
I'm not really a painter; I just like to mess around with paints.
She spent the evening messing around with the computer.
2
: to handle or play with (something) in a careless or foolish way
Stop messing around with the stereo.
Examples of mess around with (something) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Players will be able to mess around with the character creation and design their character and Palico.
—
Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2024
Shortly after his startup Thalmic Labs announced Myo, a gesture-control armband, in 2013, Lake and his co-founders, Matt Bailey and Aaron Grant, began to mess around with an early version of Google Glass.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 23 Oct. 2018
No need to mess around with bug spray thanks to this tiny machine that takes just 15 minutes to reach maximum protection, can work for up to nine hours straight, and covers a field of 20 feet to shield you from those pesky bugs.
—Jamie Spain, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2024
The four intensity levels are indicated with an LED light, so there aren’t many different buttons or features to mess around with here.
—Neha Tandon, Glamour, 7 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mess around with (something) 
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Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2024
Shortly after his startup Thalmic Labs announced Myo, a gesture-control armband, in 2013, Lake and his co-founders, Matt Bailey and Aaron Grant, began to mess around with an early version of Google Glass.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 23 Oct. 2018
No need to mess around with bug spray thanks to this tiny machine that takes just 15 minutes to reach maximum protection, can work for up to nine hours straight, and covers a field of 20 feet to shield you from those pesky bugs.
—Jamie Spain, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2024
The four intensity levels are indicated with an LED light, so there aren’t many different buttons or features to mess around with here.
—Neha Tandon, Glamour, 7 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mess around with (something)
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Cite this Entry
“Mess around with (something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20around%20with%20%28something%29. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.
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