: 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
Using a tamper, tamp the coffee down into the filter … Lexa Roséan
After 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
Traditionally, aspirin has been used to treat fever, reduce pain or tamper down inflammation. Dr. Michael Daignault, USA TODAY, 25 Aug. 2022 Finally, there are other fears over proof-of-stake, notably the risk of a 51% attack—where bad actors conspire to take over more than half the computing power of the network, and tamper with the blockchain record to steal tokens. Taylor Locke, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2022 The measure asks staff to apply hiring guidelines enforced under state alcoholic beverage control licenses to make sure staff don’t sell marijuana to children or tamper with products. Deborah Sullivan Brennan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 June 2022 However, adversarial attacks could be used by cybersecurity experts to stop the criminals using AI, and tamper with their systems. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 16 May 2022 Tame coarse, unruly hair and tamper down frizz and flyaways with another 2022 Beauty Award winner. Jacqueline Saguin, Good Housekeeping, 17 Aug. 2022 The ability to gain unauthorized access to such projects opens the possibility of supply chain attacks, in which threat actors tamper with malware before it's distributed to users. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 13 June 2022 Still, there’s always a chance that someone from within the company could tamper with the deep-learning model. Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 10 May 2022 Every owner knows how to tamper without being a league-wide conversation. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
probably from Middle French temprer to temper, mix, meddle — more at temper entry 2