mess with

phrasal verb

messed with; messing with; messes with

informal

1

: to cause trouble for (someone) : to deal with (someone) in a way that may cause anger or violence

I wouldn't want to mess with him.

You'd better not be messing with me.

2

chiefly US : to deal with or be involved with (something that causes or that could cause trouble)

The company doesn't want to mess with small distributors.

He doesn't want to mess with cocaine anymore.

3

: to handle or play with (something) in a careless way : to mess around with (something)

Don't mess with the camera.

Examples of mess with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Work stress may be messing with your communication flow. —Usa Today, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025

Those plans get messed with, though, when Ned brings Ellen to her brothers for a reckoning. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 26 Sep. 2025

Garlic Storing garlic in the fridge can mess with its texture, turning it rubbery, according to Lindsay-Adler. —Stephanie Anderson Witmer, Health, 25 Sep. 2025

But then there’s a little bit of a feeling like somebody is messing with your baby. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2025