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
Relevance
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
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.
Recent Examples of fool around
Oklahoma fooled around with Houston long enough to escape with a narrow 16-12 win.
—
Chase Goodbread, The Tennessean, 18 Sep. 2024
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
Why fool around with a convention that everyone understood and practiced?
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2024
Flashbacks peppered throughout the first several episodes reveal that Yasmin caught her father fooling around with a pregnant woman on the boat.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 16 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Chase Goodbread, The Tennessean, 18 Sep. 2024
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
Why fool around with a convention that everyone understood and practiced?
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2024
Flashbacks peppered throughout the first several episodes reveal that Yasmin caught her father fooling around with a pregnant woman on the boat.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 16 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fool around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fool around
Verb
-
Elsewhere, two boys, Frank and Alain, get up to assorted mischief, sneaking onto a baseball diamond at night or horsing around on railroad tracks, although there are hints that Frank’s family may leave Cuba soon.—
Ben Kenigsberg,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2025
-
In the video, Payne is shown horsing around with a large outdoor crowd and his bandmates, encouraging the fans to quiet their screaming and then raise the volume all the way back up.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA TODAY,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Engage Your Senses In a shared office environment, playing loud music or lighting a scented candle is frowned upon.—
Kate Wieczorek,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
-
The Rebellion Is Here Moss, who stars, executive produces and directs on the series, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the emotional impact of becoming a mother herself before playing June one last time for The Handmaid’s Tale.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Skrillex has never restricted his distension of sonic materials to merely supersizing his bass lines, and among other things, the voices on this album are routinely phased and retuned and cut up.—
Michaelangelo Matos,
Rolling Stone,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Here, Pulisic cuts up the left channel to offer a destination for a through ball.—
Jeff Rueter,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
During the broadcast, Ripa also showed off a photo that didn't make the cut.—
Catherine Santino,
People.com,
7 Apr. 2025
-
From Viktor Hovland's wild looks with J. Lindeberg to Jason Day and Malbon, brands love to show off their spring outfits at Augusta National.—
John W. Dean,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
All of this establishes that Frank Martin does not mess around.—
Mike Ryan,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2025
-
For quick messes around the house and in the car, opt for this handheld vacuum with more than 70,600 five-star ratings.—
Isabel Garcia,
People.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
The big picture: The nine-block shopping district got its own Art Deco-style sign on Monday, which now hangs about 25 feet in the air over Cary Street by Burtons Grill & Bar.—
Sabrina Moreno,
Axios,
1 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
Clarke Schmidt’s back acted up, and then his shoulder.—
Brendan Kuty,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
-
Mount Spurr, located about 75 miles West of Anchorage, has been acting up in recent weeks, prompting officials at the U.S. Geological Survey and Alaska Volcano Observatory to issue a yellow alert.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA TODAY,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The Barnes & Noble move to Palms with a modern store design comes as the chain is on an expansion kick around the country.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2025
-
But much of the NL Central seems stagnant, the NL West has the Colorado Rockies to kick around, and the NL East can manhandle the Miami Marlins.—
Chad Jennings,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fool around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fool%20around. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share