1
as in cutting up
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 fiddling (around)
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 fooling around
Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.
—
Quanta Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
Quanta Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooling around
Verb
-
Ford is planning on cutting up to 1,000 roles in electric-vehicle production in Germany.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Proposition 50 would turn back the clock of progress, cutting up our neighborhoods for political gain and silencing the very voices that fought hardest for fairness.—
Bernadette Suarez,
Oc Register,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Despite playing before halftime, Scheierman and Walsh were not put back on the court again until the final seconds.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Investigators pointed to a March 23, 2023, game involving Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
At the event, Mendes posed for photos while showing off her engagement ring — a large diamond on a delicate band.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Shrewsbury wrote on Instagram showing off the outfit.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Its general sensibility seems more Superstore than The Office, down to the interstitial montages of customers acting up in the perpetually overcrowded waiting room.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Sturm said his back started acting up after the team’s first practice.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Apple isn't messing around with this update.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The dismantling of the Cubs in the NLDS was a statement series that the Brewers are not messing around and have the power to win their first World Series.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In 2019, city employees began hanging about 500 trick-or-treat pumpkin buckets in the trees on Main Street every October.—
Elliott Harrell,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Orion Nebula Those viewing from a dark sky location may also notice a blurry patch of light hanging about 5 degrees below Orion's belt.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
According to Hamel, who shared a demonstration of the lifelike robot earlier this year, Somers had been kicking around the idea for decades with inventor Ray Kurzweil.—
Karu F Daniels,
Mercury News,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Originally from Asheville, North Carolina, Forsberg has been kicking around Pittsburgh for a hair more than a decade now.—
Wilder Davies,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fooling around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooling%20around. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share