# mess about

CEFR B1 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/mess-about
Updated: 2026-10-22

## Definition

to behave in a silly way or spend time doing things that are not useful. You use this when someone is playing instead of working or being serious.

For teachers: to engage in aimless or frivolous activity; to behave in a silly or unproductive manner. The verb is primarily intransitive but can take a prepositional object with 'with'.

## Examples

- Stop messing about and help me clean the kitchen.
- The students were messing about at the back of the classroom until the teacher told them to sit down.
- Rather than addressing the core issues of the contract, the legal teams spent months messing about with minor clerical details.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He was messing about the computer." but "He was messing about with the computer." — If you are touching or trying to fix something in a silly way, you must use 'with' before the object.

## Usage notes

- This phrase is informal and is often used to tell someone to be more serious.
- Teaching tip: Point out that 'mess about' is more common in British English, while 'mess around' is the standard American equivalent.

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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.