1
as in horsed around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
quit fooling around on the jungle gym, or you'll get hurt
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in played
to spend time in aimless activity
we fooled around outdoors for a while, then went in to get some work done
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Recent Examples of fooled around
Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects.
—
Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fooled around
Verb
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During their time together, Snead and McVay built teams that have played in two Super Bowls, winning one, and made eight playoff appearances.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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The crowd went nuts because Heidenreich played for the United States Naval Academy.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His life has come to the reader in bits and pieces, a collage, or, like his poems, a cut up.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
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People in yards cut up tree trunks and piled tree branches.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Following tea with the king and queen in the White House Green room, the Trumps showed off the White House’s new beehive to the royal couple.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
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Sophomore Nate Roberts is a 6-5, 240-pounder who has blocking experience and showed off versatility catching passes in the spring.—
Cameron Teague Robinson,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the email, Dixon suggested that the fire department employee may have messed around with the department's equipment.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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And of course, Peterson not playing would have made some wonder if the McDonald’s All-American’s hamstring had acted up again.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
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That bill's kicked around on the House's calendar for a few weeks now.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2026
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People were kicked around in the pit, pancaked at the front of the stage, and the crowd surfing had a 90% fail rate.—
Deborah Sengupta Stith,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fooled around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fooled%20around. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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