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Synonyms

mess with

Idioms  

  1. Interfere or associate with; also, annoy, bother. For example, Our group won't mess with those street musicians, or I told him not to mess with me or there would be trouble. [Colloquial; c. 1900]

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.

He called the operations in Ecuador a “giant mess with no exit strategy.”

From Salon

I mess with the zipper on the throw pillow I’m leaning against.

From Literature

It now falls to new-look Spurs powerbrokers to somehow survive the current mess, with CEO Vinai Venkatesham - who was previously at Arsenal - and sporting director Johan Lange under scrutiny, along with the Lewis family, who are over-seeing affairs.

From BBC

“When we go public on something, we have to go really hard,” Chadwick said in an interview, adding that it is necessary “so people know not to mess with you.”

From The Wall Street Journal

You didn’t mess with Mrs. Smith.

From Literature

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.