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mouse around

B2 informal intransitive
In simple words

Move your mouse pointer around on the computer screen to look at different parts.

Literal meaning: To move around as a mouse does — quietly exploring different corners of a space.

Meanings

1 B1 informal

To move the computer mouse or cursor around the screen to explore different areas, menus, or options.

"Mouse around the homepage and see if you can find the settings option."

2 C1 idiomatic informal

To move around cautiously or quietly, like a mouse, exploring or searching without drawing attention.

"He was mousing around the office late at night, looking for the missing files."

Usage notes

Primarily used in informal digital or tech contexts. Not widely recorded in dictionaries as a fixed phrasal verb. Also occasionally used to mean moving about cautiously or quietly, like a mouse — though this sense is even rarer.

Commonly used with

screen interface website menu desktop

Forms

Base
mouse around
I/you/we/they
3rd person
mouses around
he/she/it
Past simple
moused around
yesterday
Past participle
moused around
have + pp
-ing form
mousing around
continuous

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