tamper

[tam-per]

verb (used without object)

to meddle, especially for the purpose of altering, damaging, or misusing (usually followed by with): Someone has been tampering with the lock.

to make changes in something, especially in order to falsify (usually followed by with): 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 by with): Any lawyer who tries to tamper with a jury should be disbarred.

Origin of tamper

1560–70; probably variant of temper (v.)

Related formstam·per·er, nounun·tam·pered, adjective

Synonyms for tamper

1. interfere.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for untampered

Historical Examples of untampered

Apparently it had been untampered with, for the key worked perfectly.
The Voice on the Wire
Eustace Hale Ball
But the walls were solid and untampered with, and the nails in the floor had clearly not been disturbed for many years.
In Friendship's Guise
Wm. Murray Graydon
Not a single bar had been wretched; the locks, shutters, and bolts were all untampered with.
Scenes from a Courtesan's Life
Honore de Balzac

British Dictionary definitions for untampered

tamper

verb (intr)

(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 briberyto tamper with the jury

Derived Formstamperer, noun

Word Origin for tamper

C16: alteration of temper (verb)

tamper

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for untampered

tamper

1560s, figurative use of tamper "to work in clay, etc., so as to mix it thoroughly," probably originally a variant of temper (v.), which is how it was initially spelled. Perhaps it is a dialectal workmen's pronunciation. Related: Tampered; tampering.