1
as in to clown (around)
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
stop monkeying around in the house or you'll break something
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to goof (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
would rather just monkey around instead of doing work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkey (around)
Verb
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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
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Players who for years were starved for the chance to play meaningful games on behalf of their country now would be able to face-off for international bragging rights.—
Greg Rosenstein,
NBC News,
21 Feb. 2025
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Graduate transfer Kaitlyn Chen was one of the Huskies’ most efficient scorers shooting 6-for-7 for 15 points, and sixth-year senior Aubrey Griffin also added 15 for her most productive performance since returning to play from an ACL tear on Jan. 19.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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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
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Louie's owner's TikTok account is full of the dog up to mischief, digging in the garden with his owner, watching TV, playing fetch, fooling around in the snow, and undergoing training.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Popular freezer hacks include saving Parmesan rinds to deepen the flavor of soups, cutting up loaves of bread for toast, and even storing homemade jam without all the mess of canning.—
Meghan McCarron,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2025
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By sector, technology suffered the worst, with job cuts up 128 percent on-month to 7,488, followed by automotive (123 percent), services (106 percent), retail (96 percent), and media and news (27 percent).—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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For example, Lenovo previously showed off the idea of a rollable laptop — one where the screen rolls upwards to increase the size of the display.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
2 Mar. 2025
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Hasbro Introduces Nano-mals, Has Peppa Pig news Hasbro, at Toy Fair, is showing off a new line of electronic, interactive pets called Nano-mals which can be brought to life when their owners play with them.—
Joan Verdon,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 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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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
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Cite this Entry
“Monkey (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkey%20%28around%29. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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