mess with

phrasal verb

messed with; messing with; messes with

informal

: 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.

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.

: 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 Nick was very good at getting into your head and messing with your head. —

Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 28 May 2024 Jennifer Lopez had to see for herself Netflix’s billboard in Los Angeles extolling people to not mess with her, as her latest film, Atlas, premiered on the streaming service. —

David Chiu, Peoplemag, 25 May 2024 Yu says microplastics could physically disrupt spermatogenesis, mess with the barrier between the testicles, or be a vehicle for harmful chemicals. —

Will Stone, NPR, 22 May 2024 People would mess with the cars—putting traffic cones on top of the vehicles so the robo-taxis would pull over, or throwing rocks at the windshields. —

Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 16 May 2024 That must really mess with your head… Drew Van Acker dabbled in a handful of acting gigs before taking over the role of Jason DeLaurentis from Parker Bagley after season 1. —

EW.com, 9 May 2024 Now, here's the bad news: There are many wrong ways and decisions, both small and large, can mess with the harmony of any family trip. —

Christine Sarkis, USA TODAY, 4 May 2024 That’s it: There are no gels or liquids to mess with and no need to leave a patch or adhesive strip on for long periods of time. —

Lacey Muinos, Verywell Health, 3 May 2024 Similarly, shoveling food down quickly can also mess with the digestive process. —

Marygrace Taylor, SELF, 2 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mess with.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.