arse around
verb
Simple meaning
To behave in a clownish, irresponsible or inefficient way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ahrserowndSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɑɹsɚaʊnd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
intransitiveslangukirelandcommonwealth
To behave in a clownish, irresponsible or inefficient manner.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To behave in a clownish, irresponsible or inefficient manner.
Used this way, arse around is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Very casual
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Playful and informal
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Usage note
Slang: natural in speech and messages between friends, but out of place in school, work or published writing.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.