mess with

phrase

1

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

He's not someone you want to mess with.

2

: to be involved with (someone or something) that may cause problems

I don't have time to mess with all these changes.

3

: to handle something in a careless way

Stop messing with my phone.

Examples of mess with in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to Carpenter, being known, and even having his songs known, messed with his head. — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2026

The whole point is to give the owner the experience of driving the car, not to mess with gizmos, gadgets, screens, and everything else. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 3 Sep. 2026

When teams began rolling out alternative and throwback uniforms years ago, the Chiefs never made an effort to mess with their game-day look. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026

The milestone episode saw an unexpected storm roll in during Lucy’s big day, messing with her plans to tie the knot with Kevin Kinkirk (played by George Stults). — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 2