intransitive verb
1.
a. : dabble , putter
small boys and girls who like to mess around with paints — New Yorker
: to work according to one's whim or mood
busy messing around with cameras under water, in the air — Marya Mannes
b. : to waste time : dawdle , idle
mess around on the beach most of the summer
2. : interfere , intrude
3.
a. : associate
don't mess around with admirals much — K.M.Dodson
b. : flirt , philander
reckon he messes around with some lady friend — Erskine Caldwell
transitive verb
: to treat roughly : manhandle
the hoodlums messed him around considerably