meddle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
-
(usually foll by with) to interfere officiously or annoyingly
-
(usually foll by in) to involve oneself unwarrantedly
to meddle in someone's private affairs
Other Word Forms
- meddler noun
- meddling adjective
- meddlingly adverb
- overmeddle verb (used without object)
- unmeddled adjective
Etymology
Origin of meddle
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English medlen, from Old French me(s)dler, variant of mesler “to mix,” from Vulgar Latin misculāre (unrecorded), frequentative of Latin miscēre
Explanation
To meddle is to interfere. You can meddle in someone else's affairs, and you can meddle with someone else's things. Either way, you’re messing with someone else’s stuff and she probably doesn’t like it. Meddle started out in the late 1400’s meaning “to mingle,” then it became a pain when it began to be used to mean “interfere,” which is how we use it now. For a little while there it also meant to be, um, romantic with someone, but it’s not used that way today. Meddle is what little sisters do, always getting in the middle of your business.
Vocabulary lists containing meddle
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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This Week in Words: March 10 - 16, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote that the government shouldn’t meddle with his neighbor’s free choice so long as “it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
Public policy advocates and experts expressed concern about state lawmakers using their power to meddle with local housing projects, especially when carving out exemptions from laws they’ve imposed on everyone else in the state.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025
It’s actually quite problematic that some perversely rich guys meddle in our affairs in their own way.
From Slate • Nov. 19, 2025
President Hassan warned at the time that she would not allow activists from neighbouring countries to "meddle" in Tanzania's affairs.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2025
Clover asked Benjamin to read her the Sixth Commandment, and when Benjamin, as usual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters, she fetched Muriel.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
