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

Eventually, the Cleveland defense was an exhausted mess with temperatures reaching the mid-90s, but the main point is that the Browns were a mess overall. — Zac Jackson, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026

But again, that’s messing with a good thing going in where France and Merrill are hitting at the moment. — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2026

This doesn’t mean Williams doesn’t enjoy messing with Ford on the Shrinking set. — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2026

The new school, harder classes, longer class times and larger population of students messed with her organizational skills. — Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 2