tamper with

1. Interfere or meddle, especially in a harmful way. For example, If you tamper with that lock it's sure to break . [c. 1600]

2. Engage in improper or secret dealings, as in He was accused of tampering with the jury . [c. 1600]

Example Sentences

Four meant that he might jump with a hostage, and this signaled: Do not tamper with the gear.

From Los Angeles Times

Prosecutors argued Wright had tried to tamper with evidence out of fear of being blamed for the crash.

From BBC

"We ask visitors not to tamper with any art on display," they added.

From BBC

Having copies of the proprietary voting system software could allow a bad actor to study it for weaknesses and develop ways to tamper with vote counts, with minimal physical access.

From Slate

“Utility companies have a troubling history of exploiting the chaos during and after major fires to destroy or tamper with critical evidence,” Ali Moghaddas, an attorney with Edelson PC, said in an email.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• batter 
• break 
• burn 
• contaminate 
• harm 
• hurt 
• impair 
• infect 
• injure 
• maim 
• mangle 
• mar 
• pollute 
• ravage 
• ruin 
• scorch 
• smash 
• tarnish 
• tear 
• undermine