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mess around

mess a·round
M m

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [mes uh-round]
    • /mɛs əˈraʊnd/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [mes uh-round]
    • /mɛs əˈraʊnd/

Definitions of mess around words

  • noun mess around a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition: The room was in a mess. 1
  • noun mess around a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered. 1
  • noun mess around a state of embarrassing confusion: My affairs are in a mess. 1
  • noun mess around an unpleasant or difficult situation: She got into a mess driving without a license. 1
  • noun mess around a dirty or untidy mass, litter, or jumble: a mess of papers. 1
  • noun mess around a group regularly taking their meals together. 1
See all 32 definitions of mess around

Information block about the term

Origin of mess around

First appearance:

before 1250
One of the 11% oldest English words
1250-1300; Middle English mes < Old French: a course at a meal < Late Latin missus what is sent (i.e., put on the table), noun use of past participle of Latin mittere to send

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Mess around

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Mess around

mess around popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

mess around usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for mess around

verb mess around

  • dabble — If you dabble in something, you take part in it but not very seriously.
  • dawdle — If you dawdle, you spend more time than is necessary going somewhere.
  • doodle — a small pile of hay; haystack.
  • fool around — a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense.
  • loiter — to linger aimlessly or as if aimless in or about a place: to loiter around the bus terminal.
All 14 Synonyms of mess around

Antonyms for mess around

verb mess around

  • labor — productive activity, especially for the sake of economic gain.
  • toil — Usually, toils. a net or series of nets in which game known to be in the area is trapped or into which game outside of the area is driven.
  • work — Henry Clay, 1832–84, U.S. songwriter.
All 3 Antonyms of mess around

See also

Matching words

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