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
Wade began by saying the last thing anyone should be doing is messing with James’ preferred snack of choice.
—
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2025
Some types of fat can be inflammatory and mess with your metabolism, potentially leading to issues like high blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 26 Mar. 2025
Despite a disruption to spring training, one that would mess with their body clocks and keep them from having a normal build-up to the season, there was never a hint of complaining.
—Sahadev Sharma, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025
Changing your virtual location to another country tends to mess with region-specific licensing deals.
—PCMAG, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess with
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Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2025
Some types of fat can be inflammatory and mess with your metabolism, potentially leading to issues like high blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 26 Mar. 2025
Despite a disruption to spring training, one that would mess with their body clocks and keep them from having a normal build-up to the season, there was never a hint of complaining.
—Sahadev Sharma, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025
Changing your virtual location to another country tends to mess with region-specific licensing deals.
—PCMAG, 25 Mar. 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 6 Apr. 2025.
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