Difference between Mess About and Loiter

MESS ABOUT vs LOITER: VERB

Be about
To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly; to linger; to hang around.

To stand idly about; linger without any purpose.
To violate a law or ordinance that prohibits persons from remaining in a given location without a clear purpose for an extended period of time, especially when behaving in a manner indicating a possible threat to persons or property in the vicinity.
To hover over or remain near an area.
To act slowly or with leisure; take one's time.
To be slow in moving; to delay; to linger; to be dilatory; to spend time idly; to saunter; to lag behind.
To wander as an idle vagrant.
To proceed slowly or with many stops.

Be about a place without any apparent purpose
To consume or waste, as time, idly or carelessly: used with away: as, he loitered away most of his leisure.
Synonyms To lag, tarry, saunter, dilly-dally.
To linger; be unduly slow in moving; delay; be dilatory; spend time idly.

Laugh at, Mess around, Piss about, Mill around, Mill about, Lallygag, Hang around, Footle, Loiter, Lounge, Lurk, Loaf, Tarry, Linger, Lollygag

Congregate, Wander, Lag, Mess about, Hang around, Lallygag, Mill about, Footle, Mill around, Loaf, Lounge, Tarry, Lollygag, Linger, Lurk

Laugh at, Mess around, Piss about, Mill around, Mill about, Lallygag, Hang around, Footle, Loiter, Lounge, Lurk, Loaf, Tarry, Linger, Lollygag

Congregate, Wander, Lag, Mill around, Mill about, Mess about, Lallygag, Hang around, Footle, Loaf, Lounge, Tarry, Lollygag, Linger, Lurk

As a young lad you can't mess about, you've got to be serious and hopefully have an influence.
Cementing its friendly nature, Quik offers a little pairs minigame for you to mess about with while the app renders your masterpiece.
If I were creating the world I wouldn't mess about with butterflies and daffodils.
Cast Away the fishing version of the Mess About is available.
There had been much speculation in the mess about the figure.
Spreadsheets can be tricky for deployment because users sometimes mess about in the cell formulas.
Yes, I can easily go in and mess about with the XML to fix it.
Airlines may also mess about with timings if they change the aircraft type.
"All of this mess about police brutality is nonsense.".
And we cannot mess about with His church.

The Lower school students won't have time to loiter around town all day.
Students will not be permitted to loiter in the hallways after school hours.
Students are not to sit in or loiter around the vehicles.
Students may not loiter in hallways, stairways, the cafeteria, or restrooms.
EVER AT LCI AND ANY OTHER FORUM THAT YOU LOITER, STALK.
Do not loiter outside the building, especially after dark.
Begin loiter at the specified Latitude and Longitude.
Foreigners loiter outside Anchorvale CC to watch g..
Students should not loiter in the parking lot.
Loiter, or be permitted to loiter, in or about any roomwherein any gambling game is operated or conducted.