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.
"With that kind of access, one can tamper with the answer-sheets, change marks or even access peoples' phone numbers and bank details," he alleged.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Recorded at 1:47 a.m. on Feb. 1, they show an individual, wearing a balaclava, gloves and a backpack, appearing to tamper with the camera at Guthrie’s front porch the morning of her disappearance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026
Law enforcement on Tuesday released photos and video of a masked individual appearing to tamper with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door on the morning of her disappearance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 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
“It was to you that I had given my trust and the only way a stranger could tamper with that trust was with your permission. I blamed only you.”
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
