Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: mesler, medler, from Latin miscere 'to mix'

meddle

 verb
     
med‧dle [intransitive]
1 to deliberately try to influence or change a situation that does not concern you, or that you do not understand [= interfere]
meddle in
I don't like other people meddling in the way I run this prison.
He accused the US of meddling in China's internal affairs.
meddle with
I'm not the sort of newspaper owner who meddles with editorial policy.
2 British English to touch something which you should not touch, especially in a careless way that might break it
meddle with
You have no right to come in here meddling with my things.
—meddler noun [countable]
—meddling noun [uncountable]
—meddling adjective [only before noun]
meddling politicians
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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