verb + about
97 phrasal verbs
To waste time doing silly or unproductive things; to behave foolishly or irresponsibly.
(British, vulgar slang) To waste time or behave in a foolish, unproductive manner.
(Dated British slang) To waste time or behave in a foolish, aimless manner.
To mention or use a word, name, or idea repeatedly and carelessly, often without full understanding.
To move around noisily, making loud banging or crashing sounds.
To treat someone or something roughly, hitting or knocking them in various directions.
To discuss ideas informally and casually; to knock or hit something in various directions.
To concern or relate to a particular topic; or to be present and active nearby.
To avoid getting to the main point of something; to talk around a subject.
To tell people what to do in a domineering, overbearing way, especially without the right to do so.
A nautical term: to swing the yards of a square-rigged ship to the opposite side, especially when tacking or changing course.
To cause something to happen, especially a significant change or event.
To move in a rough, uncontrolled way, especially of a vehicle being tossed around in bad conditions.
To waste time or treat someone in an inconsiderate, unhelpful way (British, vulgar).
Australian vulgar variant of 'bugger about': to waste time or act irresponsibly.
To move around busily and energetically, or for rumours and excitement to circulate widely.
To behave in a silly, playful, or deliberately comedic way, often to amuse others.
To happen or occur, especially as the result of a series of events or circumstances.
To move around casually or travel about an area; also, to slash or cut something in multiple places.
To move rapidly and repeatedly in different directions with sudden changes of course.
(British, vulgar informal) To waste time doing nothing useful, or to treat someone inconsiderately.
To spend time idly without doing anything useful.
To waste time by doing things in a disorganized, ineffective, or unnecessarily fussy way.
To laugh so hard that you lose control of your body.
To search for something by looking or feeling around in a careful, persistent way, especially in hidden or cluttered places.
A nautical term meaning to turn a ship around or bring it onto a new course.
To waste time on unimportant things, or to touch or adjust something repeatedly in a nervous or purposeless way.
To move one's arms or legs wildly and without control in all directions.
To behave in a silly, playful, or irresponsible way, or to waste time.
To waste time doing trivial or purposeless things; to fuss ineffectually.
To stop thinking about, remembering, or worrying about someone or something.
British vulgar slang for wasting time, behaving foolishly, or treating someone inconsiderately.
A rare British euphemistic slang expression meaning to waste time, behave foolishly, or do nothing useful.
An archaic or dialectal expression meaning to distribute or pass something around.
To approach or deal with a task in a particular way; or to move around doing ordinary activities.
An archaic or literary expression meaning to attempt or intend to do something; equivalent to 'be about to' in older English.
To cut or alter something in a rough, careless, or clumsy way; also to interfere with something carelessly.
To stay in a place doing nothing, or to wait for someone; also used as an exclamation meaning 'wait a moment'.
To surround something with so many conditions, qualifications, or restrictions that it becomes unclear or overly limited.
To move around with quick, light jumps or to move busily from place to place
To play in a boisterous, rough, or silly manner, often when one should be doing something more serious.
To jump or move energetically in different directions; to jump repeatedly without a set direction.
To discuss ideas informally without reaching a conclusion; to be left lying around unused; or to be present somewhere without a clear purpos
To have information, knowledge, or awareness regarding a subject, person, or situation.
To relax or rest in a lazy, physically limp way without doing anything in particular.
To waste time, behave in a silly way, or treat someone carelessly.
To move around in a disorganised, aimless way, typically as part of a crowd.
To behave in a silly, playful, or irresponsible way.
To move around slowly and aimlessly in a gloomy or dejected state, feeling sorry for oneself.
To change position or location, either within a space or more broadly by relocating frequently.
To behave in a silly, aimless, or time-wasting way, or to treat someone carelessly.
To give someone a series of commands in a domineering or disrespectful way.
To behave in a playful or unserious way; to experiment with something casually.
To explore or search a place or situation casually, often out of curiosity
To spend time in a relaxed way doing small, undemanding tasks without any clear plan or urgency.
British informal: to behave in a silly or time-wasting way, often making a fool of oneself.
To treat someone in a bossy or bullying way, telling them what to do or intimidating them.
To spread information, rumours, or stories, often unofficially or maliciously; also a nautical term for changing a ship's course.
To spend time doing small, unimportant tasks in a leisurely and unhurried way.
To make a rattling noise while moving loosely in a container; or (of a person) to live or move around in a space that is too large.
To roll or move in various directions without a fixed course, or to laugh uncontrollably.
To search through a place or collection of things by moving things around energetically, like an animal digging.
To waste time, behave irresponsibly, or treat someone in an inconsiderate manner. (British English variant of 'screw around'.)
To attend to, arrange, or enquire into something that needs dealing with
To begin doing something with determination, or to attack someone physically.
To direct one's mental attention toward something, or to consider a possibility.