fool around
Idioms-
Also, monkey around . Engage in idle or casual activity, putter. For example, Jim loved to fool around with his computer , or She was monkeying around with some figures in hopes of balancing the budget . [Second half of 1800s]
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Engage in frivolous activity, waste time. For example, Instead of studying, he spends all his spare time fooling around . Also see fool away .
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Engage in flirting or casual sexual acts; also, engage in adultery. For example, He caught the two teenagers fooling around in the basement . [1830s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“With handing off, you can’t be fooling around and changing it on the fly. You have to practice it during the week.”
From Los Angeles Times
He started fooling around with it and has been playing lacrosse ever since.
From Los Angeles Times
What kind of bullpen fools around with an eight-run lead, as the Dodgers reliever did Tuesday night when threatening to ruin everything?
From Los Angeles Times
Composers were fooling around with repetition, drones, tape loops and the like.
From Los Angeles Times
They fooled around briefly with different group names and pop-rock styles until Dennis came up with the idea of doing a song about surfing.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
