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
That’s a bond that neither Trump nor most of the GOP caucus will want to mess with.
—
Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
This is pretty subjective, but there are a few common clues that point toward the latter, according to Dr. Nesi: If your Instagram habit is messing with your sleep, for instance, or the people around you IRL are getting pissed that you’re always glued to your cell, those are some biggies.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 19 Jan. 2025
Robert won’t be in Atlanta on Monday night, refusing to mess with the karma established by his son’s roll alongside friend Suszka.
—Pete Sampson, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025
But we’ve all been reminded over the past couple of weeks, for reasons that transcend golf, that wind matters – a lot – and Mother Nature is not to be messed with.
—Jim Alexander, Orange County Register, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mess with 
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Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025
This is pretty subjective, but there are a few common clues that point toward the latter, according to Dr. Nesi: If your Instagram habit is messing with your sleep, for instance, or the people around you IRL are getting pissed that you’re always glued to your cell, those are some biggies.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 19 Jan. 2025
Robert won’t be in Atlanta on Monday night, refusing to mess with the karma established by his son’s roll alongside friend Suszka.
—Pete Sampson, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025
But we’ve all been reminded over the past couple of weeks, for reasons that transcend golf, that wind matters – a lot – and Mother Nature is not to be messed with.
—Jim Alexander, Orange County Register, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mess with
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Cite this Entry
“Mess with.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20with. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.
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