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
Relevance
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
-
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 -
The unidentified pre-teen was horsing around and throwing snowballs in Connecticut’s capital city with an 11-year-old friend, local ABC affiliate WTNH reported.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The Eagles have played in one Super Bowl in the stadium, losing 27-10 to the Oakland Raiders in 1981.—
Jamie Barton,
CNN,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Sunoco has played a substantial role within NASCAR, not just as a fuel provider, but also through various sponsorships.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Players were in a dorm room fooling around with a gun.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Nov. 2024
-
Oklahoma fooled around with Houston long enough to escape with a narrow 16-12 win.—
Chase Goodbread,
The Tennessean,
18 Sep. 2024
Verb
-
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
-
In the frying process, those odd crumbles can be cut up in a casual manner with a spatula.—
Cathy Thomas,
Orange County Register,
10 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The Rays’ temporary home (Steinbrenner Field) is ready to show off.—
Ken Rosenthal,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
-
Along with an eye-catching diamond necklace and stud earrings by Tiffany & Co., Gomez also took the opportunity to show off her dazzling marquise engagement ring from Benny Blanco.—
Catherine Santino,
People.com,
16 Feb. 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
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.
Thesaurus Entries Near monkey (around)
Cite this Entry
“Monkey (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkey%20%28around%29. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share