English Dictionary

MESS ABOUT

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does mess about mean? 

MESS ABOUT (verb)
  The verb MESS ABOUT has 1 sense:

1. be aboutplay

  Familiarity information: MESS ABOUT used as a verb is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


MESS ABOUT (verb)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Be about

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

footle; hang around; lallygag; linger; loaf; loiter; lollygag; lounge; lurk; mess about; mill about; mill around; tarry

Context example:

Who is this man that is hanging around the department?

Hypernyms (to "mess about" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mess about"):

lurch; prowl (loiter about, with no apparent aim)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP


 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"A friend in need is a friend indeed." (English proverb)

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"Life does not always go over roses." (Dutch proverb)



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