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

Cities are places of power and messing with the structure means coming into contact with people who have and wield influence. —Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025

The strong ones overcompensate for the weak, which messes with your stability and mobility. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 11 Sep. 2025

Obviously, shoulder injuries are nothing to mess with for pitchers, especially those who regularly top the triple-digit mark. —Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025

Again, no need to mess with a winning formula. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025