to mess sb about
1mess someone about/around Brit. — mess someone about/around Brit. informal cause someone problems. → mess …
2mess somebody about — ˌmess sb aˈbout/aˈround derived (BrE) to treat sb in an unfair and annoying way, especially by changing your mind a lot or not doing what you said you would • I m sorry to mess you about but there are a few last minute changes. Main entry:… …
3mess around/about — behave in a silly or playful way, esp. so as to cause irritation ■ spend time doing something in a pleasantly desultory way, with no definite purpose or serious intent messing about in boats …
4mess around/about with — interfere with we don t want outsiders messing around with our schools ■ informal engage in a sexual relationship with (someone, esp. the partner of another person) …
5mess somebody around — ˌmess sb aˈbout/aˈround derived (BrE) to treat sb in an unfair and annoying way, especially by changing your mind a lot or not doing what you said you would • I m sorry to mess you about but there are a few last minute changes. Main entry:… …
6mess about — phrasal verb mess about or mess around Word forms mess about : present tense I/you/we/they mess about he/she/it messes about present participle messing about past tense messed about past participle messed about British informal 1) [intransitive]… …
7mess around — phrasal verb mess about or mess around Word forms mess about : present tense I/you/we/they mess about he/she/it messes about present participle messing about past tense messed about past participle messed about British informal 1) [intransitive]… …
8mess — 1 noun 1 DIRTY/UNTIDY (singular, uncountable) a situation in which a place looks very untidy or dirty, with things spread all around: Clean up this mess! | The house was an awful mess after the party. | make a mess: You can make cookies if you… …
9mess around — (in BRIT, also use mess about) 1) PHRASAL VERB If you mess around or mess about, you spend time doing things without any particular purpose or without achieving anything. [V P] We were just messing around playing with paint... [V P] Stop messing… …
10mess*/ — [mes] noun I 1) [C/U] a situation in which a place is dirty, untidy, or in bad condition The garden was a real mess.[/ex] Try not to make a mess because I ve been cleaning.[/ex] His papers were in a terrible mess.[/ex] 2) [singular] a difficult… …
