1
as in to clown (around)
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
stop monkeying around in the house or you'll break something
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to goof (around)
to spend time in aimless activity
would rather just monkey around instead of doing work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monkey (around)
Verb
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At this point in time, my little AI company, a lean and mean group of passionate believers, is horsing around fine-tuning the product, living on a couple of angel investments, where a 10X return on few million dollars is very satisfying, not only to the angel, but also to the employees.—
Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Oct. 2025
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Running or horsing around with sparklers can also cause injuries and burns when users trip and fall.—
Verb
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Peat fit in well with Arizona’s veteran lineup, as the freshman didn’t force the issue and played within the offense.—
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Guys were playing hard, everybody on that drive was doing their job, and getting guys down on the ground.—
Verb
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Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.—
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Those have come from two players: Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres, who throws an odd knuckleball-changeup hybrid about 1 percent of the time, and Jonah Bride of the Minnesota Twins, an infielder fooling around with the knuckler in blowouts.—
Verb
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ConocoPhillips announced plans to cut up to 25% of its global staff.—
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Meanwhile, as all of this is happening, Meredith is cutting up with the other ladies at the spa, without a care in the world.—
Verb
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Moore turns her daughter around and shows off her backside, which is also covered in poop.—
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The 21st annual Dine Downtown starts Friday, with more than 30 Sacramento restaurants showing off their chops with unique, limited-time prix fixe menus.—
Verb
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Turquoise pearl, and azure line the space, and a cylindrical hanging light sculpture made of hundreds of white and gold ceramic fish hangs about the lounge seating area.—
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The hot air just hangs about, causing the dish to cook unevenly with some spots nearly raw and others burnt.—
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Cite this Entry
“Monkey (around).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monkey%20%28around%29. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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