mess with
phrasal verb
messed with; messing with; messes with
informal
1
: to cause trouble for (someone) : to deal with (someone) in a way that may cause anger or violence
I wouldn't want to mess with him.
You'd better not be messing with me.
2
chiefly US
: to deal with or be involved with (something that causes or that could cause trouble)
The company doesn't want to mess with small distributors.
He doesn't want to mess with cocaine anymore.
3
: to handle or play with (something) in a careless way : to mess around with (something)
Don't mess with the camera.
Examples of mess with in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Defenders of the current situation would argue that economic freedom requires not messing with the markets.
—
Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Countless videos have been posted online about clap boxes, showing guests having their magical minute of fame or trying to mess with the cast by going in and out of the box over and over again.
—Nicholas Kobe, People.com, 6 July 2025
Anthropic employees also relished the chance to mess with Claude.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 27 June 2025
Rattlesnake venom messes with the body’s systems to create and dissolve clots, causing blood to leak out into the surrounding tissue, Heard said.
—Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess with
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Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Countless videos have been posted online about clap boxes, showing guests having their magical minute of fame or trying to mess with the cast by going in and out of the box over and over again.
—Nicholas Kobe, People.com, 6 July 2025
Anthropic employees also relished the chance to mess with Claude.
—Billy Perrigo, Time, 27 June 2025
Rattlesnake venom messes with the body’s systems to create and dissolve clots, causing blood to leak out into the surrounding tissue, Heard said.
—Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess with
Cite this Entry
“Mess with.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20with. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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