hang around vs mess about

hang around and mess about both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
hang around	No	No	Yes	No
mess about	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, hang around and mess about are synonyms defined as:

hang around and mess about: be about a place without any apparent purpose

Other synonyms of hang around include footle, lallygag, linger, loaf, loiter, lollygag, lounge, lurk, mill about, mill around, tarry.

hang around (verb)	mess about (verb)
be about a place without any apparent purpose	be about a place without any apparent purpose