tamper
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
to meddle, especially for the purpose of altering, damaging, or misusing (usually followed bywith ).
Someone has been tampering with the lock.
- Synonyms:
- interfere
-
to make changes in something, especially in order to falsify (usually followed bywith ).
to tamper with official records.
-
to engage secretly or improperly in something.
-
to engage in underhand or corrupt dealings, especially in order to influence improperly (usually followed bywith ).
Any lawyer who tries to tamper with a jury should be disbarred.
noun
verb
-
(usually foll by with) to interfere or meddle
-
to use corrupt practices such as bribery or blackmail
-
(usually foll by with) to attempt to influence or corrupt, esp by bribery
to tamper with the jury
noun
-
a person or thing that tamps, esp an instrument for packing down tobacco in a pipe
-
a casing around the core of a nuclear weapon to increase its efficiency by reflecting neutrons and delaying the expansion
Other Word Forms
- tamperer noun
- untampered adjective
Etymology
Origin of tamper1
First recorded in 1560–70; probably variant of temper (verb)
Origin of tamper2
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.
It also says that the product "features tamper detection technology to prevent people from covering that light".
From BBC
Washington officials suspect that another school contacted Williams after he had signed his Huskies deal, and submitted evidence of tampering to the Big Ten.
From Los Angeles Times
The dashboard, built to resemble an attendance sheet, shows when students log on and off Opal and whether they tampered with the school’s block settings.
From Los Angeles Times
She believes the cards had been tampered with while in the store and the money drained from them once activated.
From BBC
Celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright will spend five months in prison for tampering with evidence after a helicopter crash that killed his co-star and left the pilot a paraplegic.
From BBC
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.
