mess about

noun

1. a portion or quantity of food for a meal or dish
2. a portion of soft or semiliquid food, as porridge
3. unappetizing food; disagreeable concoction
4. 1. a group of people who regularly have their meals together, as in the army
   2. the meal eaten by such a group
   3. the place where it is eaten
5. a disorderly or confused collection or mass of things; jumble; hodgepodge
6. 1. a state of embarrassment, trouble, difficulty, or confusion; muddle
   2. a state of being disorderly, untidy, or dirty
   3. ☆ Informal a person in either of these states
7. Informal a messy or disorderly place or condition: the house is a mess!

transitive verb

1. to supply meals to
2. to make a mess of; specif., to make dirty, soiled, or untidy; also, to bungle; muddle; botch: often with up

intransitive verb

1. to eat as one of a mess (sense )
2. to make a mess
3. to putter (with)
4. to meddle (in or with)