tamper with
Idioms-
Interfere or meddle, especially in a harmful way. For example, If you tamper with that lock it's sure to break . [c. 1600]
-
Engage in improper or secret dealings, as in He was accused of tampering with the jury . [c. 1600]
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.
The initial search focused on video footage that showed a masked person wearing gloves and a backpack appearing to tamper with a camera at her front door the morning she disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The most plausible answer, of course, is that Luke’s account was finished before their deaths and no one in subsequent decades felt sufficiently bold to tamper with it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
The new passports will also feature updated security features, the Home Office said, including the latest anti-forgery technology - making them "harder to forge or tamper with".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
“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 ● Jan. 21, 2025
Several reporters, remembering the foiled attempts to kidnap Woolf and tamper with Seabiscuit, speculated that the foul was the result of a race-fixing conspiracy.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
