mess around

Verb

mess around (third-person singular simple present messes around, present participle messing around, simple past and past participle messed around)

1. (informal) To fiddle idly.
   • The kids sat there messing around with leaves and blades of grass because they were bored.
   • These guys don't mess around! They finished the whole job in ten minutes.

   Synonyms:

   faff about, dick around, waste time

2. (informal) To joke, kid, or play.
   • Hey, don't take it personally. I was only messing around.
   • Don't mess around with electricity if you don't understand it.
3. (informal) To have a sexual relationship, especially one which is noncommittal.
   • Rumor has it that he's messing around with his secretary.
   • She grew up as the pretty young thing / Let them look up her skirt on the backyard swing, oh no / And Daddy told you to stay indoors / And I can understand how a girl gets bored / Too old to play and too young to mess around2016, Lucy Dacus, “Troublemaker Doppelgänger”, in No Burden, Matador Records
4. (dated, slang, African-American Vernacular) To dance.