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mess about

B1 informal inseparable both
In simple words

To play around and not do anything useful, or to treat someone badly.

Literal meaning: To create disorder (mess) in the area about you — but the idiomatic meaning shifts to wasting time or treating someone carelessly.

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic informal

To spend time doing unimportant or silly things instead of working or being serious.

"Stop messing about and get your homework finished before dinner."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B1 idiomatic informal

To treat someone inconsiderately, especially by changing plans or being unreliable.

"They kept messing us about with the delivery date, so we cancelled the order."

Grammar: separable
3 B1 informal

To tinker or experiment casually with something.

"He spent the afternoon messing about with the old motorbike engine in the garage."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Predominantly British English. When used transitively ('to mess someone about'), it means to treat a person inconsiderately or waste their time. When intransitive, it simply means to idle or play.

Commonly used with

stop kids time office colleagues around

Forms

Base
mess about
I/you/we/they
3rd person
messes about
he/she/it
Past simple
messed about
yesterday
Past participle
messed about
have + pp
-ing form
messing about
continuous

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Synonyms

fool around play around waste time muck about dawdle lark about

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