Definition

1. Verb:

   • To interfere with something, especially in order to damage it or make unauthorized changes: This is the most common meaning. It involves handling or altering something improperly, often secretly or with harmful intent.
   • To meddle or interfere in something that is not one's concern: This meaning focuses on unwanted or intrusive involvement in matters belonging to others.

2. Noun:

   • A tool used for packing or tamping down material: This is a specialized, less common meaning. It refers to a device, often a rod or lever, used to compact substances like soil, tobacco, or explosives.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • It is a crime to tamper with evidence in an investigation. (This shows the act of altering something improperly.)
  • Please do not tamper with the thermostat settings. (This shows interfering with a device's normal operation.)
  • He was accused of tampering with the election results. (This shows making unauthorized, dishonest alterations.)

• Noun:

  • The worker used a tamper to compact the soil around the new fence post. (This shows the tool being used for its intended purpose.)

Advanced Usage

• "to tamper with": This is the standard and almost exclusive phrasal construction for the verb. The object of the interference always follows "with."
  • Someone has been tampering with the lock on this door.
  • You should never tamper with electrical wiring unless you are qualified.

Variants and Related Words

• Tampering (n): The act or instance of interfering with something.
  • The jury was dismissed due to allegations of witness tampering.
• Tamp (v): To pack down firmly by a series of light blows. This is the action performed with a tamper (noun).
  • He used his foot to tamp down the soil.

Synonyms

• Interfere with: To get involved in something in an unwanted way.
• Meddle with: To involve oneself in a matter without right or invitation.
• Fiddle with: To make small, restless, or aimless movements, often implying improper adjustment.
• Alter: To change, but "tamper" specifically implies unauthorized or secretive alteration.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Tamper with: As shown throughout, this is the essential verb phrase. It does not commonly separate.
  • The documents appeared to have been tampered with.

Related Idioms

• "Tamper-proof": Designed to prevent or show evidence of unauthorized interference.
  • The medicine bottle has a tamper-proof seal for safety.

Noun

1. a tool for tamping (e.g., for tamping tobacco into a pipe bowl or a charge into a drill hole etc.)

Verb

1. intrude in other people's affairs or business; interfere unwantedly
   • Don't meddle in my affairs!
2. play around with or alter or falsify, usually secretively or dishonestly
   • Someone tampered with the documents on my desk
   • The reporter fiddle with the facts