doss around
phrasal verb.phrasal verb. to spend time doing very little or being lazy when you should be working.
phrasal verb. to spend time aimlessly or idly; to avoid productive activity. This is a British English colloquialism with a derogatory or informal register.
Stop dossing around and finish your homework.
The manager was angry because he found the staff dossing around in the break room during the busiest hour.
While his peers were focused on their final exams, he spent the entire semester dossing around, seemingly indifferent to his future prospects.
- Particles
- around
- Separability
- inseparable
- Pattern
- doss + around
highly informal British English; usually implies the person is wasting time on purpose.
this is a great example of British slang that functions as a standard phrasal verb; you can link it to the noun 'doss' (something very easy) or 'dosser' (a lazy person).
He is dossing about of the office.He is dossing around the office.the phrase does not require 'of' before the location or object.
Last updated April 24, 2026