verb
mess
To behave playfully rather than seriously.
The children mess around while waiting for practice to begin.
Etymology
The playful sense occurs especially in mess about or mess around. It extends the idea of disorder or confused activity to behavior without serious purpose.
More examples
- We were just messing when we pretended to argue.
- Stop messing about and help carry the chairs.
- They spent the afternoon messing around in the yard.
Forms
mess · messes · messed · messing
Similar words
- play
- A broader term without suggesting aimlessness or misbehavior.
- fool around
- More explicitly unserious or playful behavior.