7 English Phrasal Verbs With 'MESS'

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7 phrasal verbs with 'MESS'

Mess about

1. Not be serious, not use something properly
   (Separable [optional] | International English)
   
   » Example: The children were MESSING ABOUT with the TV remote control and broke it.
2. Treat someone badly
   (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
   
   » Example: He is always MESSING me ABOUT and never does what he promises.
3. Have a sexual relationship outside marriage or a permanent relationship
   (Intransitive | International English)
   
   » Example: He's not faithful- he's been MESSING ABOUT since they were married.

Mess about with

1. Have a sexual relationship outside marriage or a permanent relationship
   (Inseparable | International English)
   
   » Example: She's been MESSING ABOUT WITH another guy she knows from work.
2. Try to improve something, usually making things worse
   (Inseparable | International English)
   
   » Example: The computer was working fine until he started MESSING ABOUT WITH it.

Mess around

1. Not be serious, play with something
   (Separable [optional] | International English)
   
   » Example: I was MESSING AROUND on the internet because I couldn't be bothered to do any work.
2. Treat someone badly
   (Separable [obligatory] | International English)
   
   » Example: She is always MESSING me AROUND and never does what she promises.
3. Have a sexual relationship outside marriage or a permanent relationship
   (Intransitive | International English)
   
   » Example: She's not faithful- she's been MESSING ABOUT since they got married.

Mess around with

1. Have a sexual relationship outside marriage or a permanent relationship
   (Inseparable | International English)
   
   » Example: He's been MESSING ABOUT WITH a woman he works with.
2. Try to improve something, usually making things worse
   (Separable [optional] | International English)
   
   » Example: The computer was working fine until they started MESSING ABOUT WITH it.

Mess over

1. Treat someone badly
   (Separable [optional] | American English)
   
   » Example: They MESSED her OVER when she applied for the job.

Mess up

1. Spoil or ruin
   (Separable [optional] | International English)
   
   » Example: They MESSED UP the discussions and the contract fell through.
2. Make something untidy or dirty
   (Separable [optional] | International English)
   
   » Example: They MESSED UP the room and left stuff all over the place.
3. Cause mental, physical or emotional problems
   (Separable [optional] | International English)
   
   » Example: He took a lot of LSD and it really MESSED him UP.

Mess with

1. Become involved in something damaging or dangerous
   (Inseparable | International English)
   
   » Example: He's been MESSING WITH cocaine.
2. Annoy, bother
   (Inseparable | International English)
   
   » Example: Don't MESS WITH me or there will be trouble.
3. Associate (negative)
   (Inseparable | International English)
   
   » Example: He's been MESSING WITH some dangerous people.
4. Try to repair or improve, usually unsuccessfully
   (Inseparable | International English)
   
   » Example: She's been MESSING WITH it for hours and it still doesn't work.

Take our Exercise on 'MESS'