mess with
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If the Dodgers choose not to mess with team success, they would not afford Yamamoto the chance to hit either of those traditional barometers of excellence.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
He called the operations in Ecuador a “giant mess with no exit strategy.”
From Salon • Mar. 12, 2026
The conditions were near farcical, the ball frequently squirming through fingers and set-pieces a mess, with Scotland making the lion's share of blunders.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
“When you mess with Mother Nature, there are some things beyond our control,” said Nuttall, who works part time as a podcast host.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
“Aw, come on, Rowdy,” I said, “leave the old fool alone. We’ve got more important things to do than to mess with an old goose.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
