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horse around

B1 informal intransitive
In simple words

Play around in a loud, physical, silly way instead of doing something serious.

Literal meaning: To act like a horse — with wild, unrestrained energy.

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic informal

To engage in rough, noisy, or silly play, especially when serious behavior is expected.

"The boys were horsing around in the backyard and knocked over the garden furniture."

"You guys were just horsing around and somebody got hurt."

— Ferris Bueller's Day Off (film, dir. John Hughes, 1986)
2 B1 idiomatic informal

To waste time in idle, aimless activity instead of focusing on what needs to be done.

"We can't keep horsing around — the deadline is tomorrow morning."

Usage notes

The standard American English term for rough, playful behavior. Common in contexts involving children or young adults. Often used by a parent or authority figure expressing mild disapproval. Equivalent to British 'horse about'.

Commonly used with

kids boys gym classroom friends around

Forms

Base
horse around
I/you/we/they
3rd person
horses around
he/she/it
Past simple
horsed around
yesterday
Past participle
horsed around
have + pp
-ing form
horsing around
continuous

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Synonyms

horse about fool around goof around mess around play around roughhouse

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