# jack around

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/jack-around
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. to waste time

phrasal verb · CEFR C1 · American English · Informal · Slang

to spend time doing nothing useful or to be slow on purpose.

For teachers: to engage in idle or unproductive activity; to dawdle or procrastinate.

- Stop jacking around and help me finish this project before the deadline.
- The crew spent most of the morning jacking around instead of unloading the truck, which put the entire delivery schedule behind.

Usage: Intransitive; does not take a direct object.

Teaching tip: This is very informal and primarily used in American English; it can sound slightly aggressive or frustrated depending on the tone.

### 2. to behave silly or annoyingly

phrasal verb · CEFR C1 · American English · Informal · Slang

to act in a silly way or to treat someone unfairly by changing your mind often.

For teachers: to behave in a disruptive, silly, or uncooperative manner; to treat someone with a lack of seriousness or respect.

- The kids were jacking around in the back of the car during the long trip.
- The landlord kept jacking us around about the repairs, promising to show up but never actually arriving.

Usage: Can be used intransitively (to act silly) or transitively with 'around' (to treat someone unfairly).

Teaching tip: When used transitively ('jacking someone around'), it implies the subject is being dishonest or intentionally difficult.

## Examples

- Stop jacking around and finish your homework.
- The company kept jacking him around about the start date, so he eventually looked for another job.
- While the interns were jacking around in the breakroom, the senior partners were finalizing the merger that would determine the firm's future.

## Usage notes

- Teaching tip: this is a more casual and slightly more aggressive alternative to 'mess around' or 'fool around'; it is common in North American speech.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.