meddle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
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(usually foll by with) to interfere officiously or annoyingly
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(usually foll by in) to involve oneself unwarrantedly
to meddle in someone's private affairs
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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meddlesimple
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meddlessimple
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have meddledperfect
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has meddledperfect
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are meddlingprogressive
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am meddlingprogressive
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is meddlingprogressive
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have been meddlingperfect progressive
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has been meddlingperfect progressive
Past
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meddledsimple
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had meddledperfect
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was meddlingprogressive
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were meddlingprogressive
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had been meddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of meddle
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English medlen, from Old French me(s)dler, variant of mesler “to mix,” from Vulgar Latin misculāre (unrecorded), frequentative of Latin miscēre
Explanation
To meddle is to interfere. You can meddle in someone else's affairs, and you can meddle with someone else's things. Either way, you’re messing with someone else’s stuff and she probably doesn’t like it. Meddle started out in the late 1400’s meaning “to mingle,” then it became a pain when it began to be used to mean “interfere,” which is how we use it now. For a little while there it also meant to be, um, romantic with someone, but it’s not used that way today. Meddle is what little sisters do, always getting in the middle of your business.
Vocabulary lists containing meddle
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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This Week in Words: March 10 - 16, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meddle: Miss Pert said I was a pig; now I’m a boar!
From New York Times • Dec. 15, 2019
Meddle cautiously, and with the knowledge that this might very well backfire, but meddle nonetheless.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2016
Meddle with the material as much as you like but if you attained perfection with the colours years ago it really is time to stop messing about.
From The Guardian • Sep. 7, 2010
Meddle not in policies which you do not understand.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Nay, if you take away their portions, Ile Meddle no further with them.
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 2 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
