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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

mess about en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To misbehave
    • Kids! Stop messing about and do your work!
  2. (intransitive) To be in a casual non-committal relationship
    • Anna and I are just messing about; this isn't going to last.
  3. (transitive) To play with; to toy with; to waste the time of (a person).
    • Stop messing me about and give me a straight answer!

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
messing about Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
messes about Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
messed about Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
messed about Tense=Past lexicographic

Deriveds

messer-abouter

Synonyms

mess around (all senses)