bum around

1. Loaf, wander idly, as in After graduating he decided to bum around Europe for a year . [Mid-1800s]

2. Frequent bars or nightclubs, as in Her father accused her of bumming around half the night and threatened to cut off her allowance . In the mid-1800s to bum was slang for going on a drinking spree. A century later, with the addition of around , it simply meant going to saloons or clubs.

Example Sentences

We had this life that was mainly just bumming around on your bike and drinking coffee.

From BBC

Her family life was volatile, though, and she left home at 15 or so, bumming around the Bay Area.

From New York Times

Of his role in the group, Fletcher humbly said, “Martin’s the songwriter, Alan’s the good musician, Dave’s the vocalist, and I bum around.”

From Los Angeles Times

People were hitting the road to avoid a working life and trying to sort of bum around the country,” he said.

From Seattle Times

“Martin’s the songwriter, Alan’s the good musician, Dave’s the vocalist, and I bum around,” he said in the tour documentary “101.”

From Washington Post

Related Words

• drift
• meander
• prowl
• ramble
• saunter
• stray
• stroll
• traipse
• tramp
• trek