fool around
[verb]
Synonyms: philander, mess around, play (around), wolf, womanize

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

fool around (also fool about British English) phrasal verb (see also fool)

1. to waste time behaving in a silly way or doing things that are not important Synonym : mess around:
He always used to fool around in class.

2. to behave in a way which is careless and not responsible Synonym : mess around
fool around with
Some idiot’s been fooling around with the electricity supply!

3. American English to spend time doing something that you enjoy, but that does not have a particular purpose Synonym : mess around:
The boys were out in the yard, just fooling around.

4. to have a sexual relationship with someone else’s wife, boyfriend etc Synonym : mess around:
She found out that he’d been fooling around behind her back.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fool around
to waste time doing something without a particular purpose.
It was a serious academic school, not a place to fool around.

Usage notes: often used in the negative to mean to not waste time but to act with a serious purpose:
The coach was in no mood to fool around, and the team knew it.

I've had to reorganize, redefine, & separate "fool around" from "fool around with sth" and "with sb" orig. combined in 2 entries, as the objects differ; also "mess around" etc.--SL, 12/02
Related vocabulary: fuck around

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

fool around
to spend time playing rather than working, to waste time
If the man would spend less time fooling around he would be able to get more work done.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

fool around
See: MESS AROUND.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲