Definition

1. Verb:
   • To behave in a silly, playful, or unserious manner: To engage in frivolous or non-productive activity, often instead of doing something important.
   • To engage in casual, unserious, or non-committal romantic or sexual activity: To spend time with someone in a flirtatious or unserious way, without a deep commitment.

Usage

• The primary meaning is to act playfully or waste time. It often implies a lack of focus or seriousness.
• It can describe unserious romantic or sexual behavior, suggesting a lack of commitment or fidelity.
• It is an informal, phrasal verb.

Examples

• Verb:
  • Stop fooling around and finish your homework. (Behaving in a silly, unserious way)
  • The meeting was delayed because the technicians were fooling around with the projector. (Wasting time on non-essential activity)
  • He's not looking for a serious relationship; he just likes to fool around. (Engaging in unserious romantic/sexual activity)

Advanced Usage

• "to fool around with (something)": to experiment or tinker with something in a casual, non-expert way.
  • He likes to fool around with old car engines on the weekend.
• "to fool around with (someone)": to be involved in a casual, unserious romantic or sexual relationship with someone.
  • Rumors say she's been fooling around with her coworker.

Variants and Related Words

• Horse around (verb): A near-synonym meaning to engage in rough, playful behavior.
  • The kids were horsing around in the living room.
• Mess around (verb): Very similar in meaning to "fool around," covering both playful behavior and casual romantic involvement.
• Fool about (verb): A British English variant with the same meaning as "fool around."

Synonyms

• Play around: To behave playfully or engage in unserious activity.
• Clown around: To act like a clown; to behave in a silly way to amuse others.
• Dally: To act or move slowly or waste time; to engage in flirtation.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Fool with: To handle or interfere with something carelessly or without permission. (Note: This is distinct from "fool around with," which implies casual experimentation).
  • Don't fool with that switch; you might break it.

Related Idioms

• Fooling around: Used as a noun phrase to describe the act of behaving in a silly or unserious way.
  • All this fooling around has to stop.
• No fooling around: A command or statement meaning "be serious" or "stop wasting time."
  • Okay, no fooling around—we have a deadline to meet.

Verb

1. commit adultery
   • he plays around a lot
2. indulge in horseplay
   • Enough horsing around--let's get back to work!
   • The bored children were fooling about