tampered; tampering
ˈtam-p(ə-)riŋ 
; tampers
; tampers
1
a
: to interfere so as to weaken or change for the worse
—used with with
did not want to tamper with tradition
b
: to try foolish or dangerous experiments
—used with with
c
: to render something harmful or dangerous by altering its structure or composition
was charged with tampering with consumer products
2
a
: to carry on underhand or improper negotiations (as by bribery)
b
: to inflict physical harm, threats, intimidation, or corrupt persuasion with the goal of influencing or preventing a witness's testimony : to engage in witness tampering
—used with with
These alleged efforts were the basis for Mueller's accusation that Manafort was tampering with a witness, attempting to coach testimony, which would have violated the terms of his bail.—
Franklin Foer
Franklin Foer
plural tampers
: a tool for tamping : tamp entry 2
Using a tamper, tamp the coffee down into the filter …—Lexa Roséan
Lexa RoséanAfter each truckload of earth fell onto the cobblestones of the Piazza's perimeter, a steamroller flattened it, and five relaxed-looking workmen … patted it smooth with shovels and wooden tampers, and hosed it down.—Lis Harris
Lis HarrisSynonyms
Examples of tamper in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebDaniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
She was also acquitted of a separate charge of evidence tampering.
—Taylor Romine, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
She had been charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
And any social legitimacy that the military had left, analysts say, was eroded by widespread allegations of vote tampering to narrow the winning margins among Mr. Khan’s allies.
—Christina Goldbaum, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024
At a hearing in the case last week, New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected the defense request to sever the tampering charge into a separate trial and ruled some of the texts about Gutierrez-Reed’s drug use could be shown to jurors.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
Andrew Howard of Frankfort, Michigan, was found guilty of tampering and vandalism Wednesday during a brief trial in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent.
—CBS News, 9 Feb. 2024
In other words, whenever the results were in landslide territory, there was strong evidence of tampering.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
The legal tampering window will open at 12 p.m. ET on March 11.
—Oliver Thomas, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 28 Nov. 2023
When not in use, that tamper hangs magnetically to the left of the coffee grind dispenser.
—Jonathan Bender, Popular Mechanics, 7 Dec. 2022
Detectives contacted the seller and set up a meeting on Feb. 2 to buy the concrete tamper, investigators said.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2023
But the main thing is that light, that trust light is designed to be tamper resistant.
—WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023
Officials received tamper alerts for their ankle monitors shortly thereafter.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2023
Joiner contacted the Rill family and offered to give the tamper back on Feb. 10 in exchange for $1,000.
—Molly Fellin Spence, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2023
Escondido police found a 38-year-old man selling the concrete tamper online, Baeder said.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2023
This focus on tamper proof and open data is the main value proposition for space scientists, according to Franck Marchis, senior astronomer at SETI and chief science officer at telescope startup Unistellar.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 4 July 2023
Verb
Miami forfeited its first-round pick last year as part of punishment for tampering and held a league-low four picks because of multiple trades.
—Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
She was also acquitted of a separate charge of evidence tampering.
—Taylor Romine, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
She had been charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
And any social legitimacy that the military had left, analysts say, was eroded by widespread allegations of vote tampering to narrow the winning margins among Mr. Khan’s allies.
—Christina Goldbaum, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024
At a hearing in the case last week, New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected the defense request to sever the tampering charge into a separate trial and ruled some of the texts about Gutierrez-Reed’s drug use could be shown to jurors.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
Andrew Howard of Frankfort, Michigan, was found guilty of tampering and vandalism Wednesday during a brief trial in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent.
—CBS News, 9 Feb. 2024
In other words, whenever the results were in landslide territory, there was strong evidence of tampering.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
The legal tampering window will open at 12 p.m. ET on March 11.
—Oliver Thomas, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Noun
Its chips are used in iPhones and Apple watches to support advanced near-field communications security mechanisms such as tag originality, tamper detection, and authentication for Apple Pay.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 28 Nov. 2023
When not in use, that tamper hangs magnetically to the left of the coffee grind dispenser.
—Jonathan Bender, Popular Mechanics, 7 Dec. 2022
Detectives contacted the seller and set up a meeting on Feb. 2 to buy the concrete tamper, investigators said.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2023
But the main thing is that light, that trust light is designed to be tamper resistant.
—WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023
Officials received tamper alerts for their ankle monitors shortly thereafter.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2023
Joiner contacted the Rill family and offered to give the tamper back on Feb. 10 in exchange for $1,000.
—Molly Fellin Spence, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2023
Escondido police found a 38-year-old man selling the concrete tamper online, Baeder said.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Feb. 2023
This focus on tamper proof and open data is the main value proposition for space scientists, according to Franck Marchis, senior astronomer at SETI and chief science officer at telescope startup Unistellar.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 4 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tamper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tamper
Cite this Entry
“Tamper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tamper. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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