muck about
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muck
(mŭk)n.
1. A moist sticky mixture, especially of mud and filth.
2. Moist farmyard dung; manure.
3. Dark fertile soil containing decaying vegetable matter.
4. Something filthy or disgusting.
5. Earth, rocks, or clay excavated in mining.
6. The pile of discarded cards, as in poker: threw his hand into the muck.
v. mucked, muck·ing, mucks
v.tr.
1. To fertilize with manure or compost.
2. To make dirty, especially with muck.
3. To remove muck or dirt from (a mine, for example).
4. To fold (one's hand) in a card game, especially by pushing one's cards away.
v.intr.
Phrasal Verbs: To muck one's hand in a card game.
muck about Chiefly British
To spend time idly; putter.
muck up Informal
To bungle, damage, or ruin.
[Middle English muk, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse myki, dung.]
muck′i·ly adv.
muck′y adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
muck about
vb
1. (intr) to waste time; misbehave
2. (when: intr, foll by with) to interfere with, annoy, or waste the time of
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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| Verb | 1. |  muck about - do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly; "The old lady is usually mucking about in her little house"puddle - mess around, as in a liquid or paste; "The children are having fun puddling in paint" work - exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor" |
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