mess about
phrasal verb·1 sense·particle about
Meanings
Spend time idly or playfully without serious purpose
Why “about”? Movement has no clear target. It goes in many places, not to one set point.
“Stop messing about and finish your work.”
“Stop messing about with the puzzle.”
Don't confuse with
Mess about means spend time idly or playfully without serious purpose. Mess around means spend time in a careless or playful way.
Test yourself
“Stop messing about and finish your work.” What does it mean?
Nearby in the meaning map
Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.
mess around
A contrast learners often mix up
Spend time in a careless or playful way; Treat someone unfairly or unreliably
fool about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Behave foolishly or waste time
fuss about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Move or worry busily without much purpose
get about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Move around or travel in general
hang about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Spend time waiting or loitering somewhere
knock about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Travel or move around in various places
lie about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Be left untidily in various places; Tell untruths concerning a subject
loaf about
Same about pattern: everywhere
Spend time idly without doing anything productive
Practice “mess about” in Sink In
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