meddle

verb

med·​dle ˈme-dᵊl 

meddled; meddling

ˈmed-liŋ,

ˈme-dᵊl-iŋ 

intransitive verb

: to interest oneself in what is not one's concern : interfere without right or propriety (see propriety sense 1)

I never meddle in other people's private affairs

—G. B. Shaw

meddler

ˈmed-lər  ˈme-dᵊl-ər 

noun

Synonyms

• butt in
• interfere
• interlope
• intermeddle
• intrude
• mess
• muck (about or around)
• nose
• obtrude
• poke
• pry
• snoop

Examples of meddle in a Sentence

please stop meddling in your sister's marriage, even though you mean well

Recent Examples on the Web

The panelists, all high-ranking representatives from global cybersecurity groups, urged the cybersecurity community to come together to protect democracies from meddling via cyberattacks. —PCMAG, 9 Aug. 2024

The director insisted that purposely keeping budgets low on his films was a way to ward off meddling from his financiers. —Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 18 Aug. 2024

There’s no better gateway into horror, and gay horror especially than these meddling kids. —David Opie, IndieWire, 16 Aug. 2024

Donald Trump’s campaign was in freefall and two top intelligence officials said for the first time Russia was meddling. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English medlen, from Anglo-French mesler, medler, from Vulgar Latin *misculare, from Latin miscēre to mix — more at mix

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

meddle

verb

med·​dle ˈmed-ᵊl 

meddled; meddling ˈmed-liŋ 

-ᵊl-iŋ

: to interest oneself in what is not one's concern

meddle in another's business

meddler

ˈmed-lər 

-ᵊl-ər

noun