meddle
/ˈmɛd.əl/
meddle verb: to interfere in or with; to concern oneself with unduly.
Verb
meddle (third-person singular simple present meddles, present participle meddling, simple past and past participle meddled)
- To interfere in or with; to concern oneself with unduly.
- […] why ſhouldeſt thou meddle to thy hurt,[…]?1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 14:10, column 2
- […] the Civil Lawyers […] have medled in a matter, that belongs not to them;[…].1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Who Heir?”, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC, book I, paragraph 126, page 161
- Synonyms:
- dabble, stick one's nose into, stick one's oar in
- To interest or engage oneself; to have to do (with), in a good sense.
- […]ſtuddy to be quyet / and to medle with youre owne buſynes[…].1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, 1 Thessalonians iiij:[11], folio cclxx, verso
- The Pythagoreans who, as Ariſtotle ſays, were the firſt among the Greeks, that meddled with Mathematics, divided them into four Parts, of which, two were Pure and Primary, namely Arithmetic and Geometry; and the other two Mixed and Secondary, as Muſic and Spheres, i. e. Aſtronomy.1734, Isaac Barrow, “Lecture II. Of the Particular Division of the Mathematical Sciences”, in John Kirkby, transl., The Usefulness of Mathematical Learning Explained and Demonstrated: Being...
- To mix (something) with some other substance; to commingle, combine, blend.
- [H]e cutt a lock of all their heare, / Which medling with their blood & earth, he threw / Into the graue,[…].1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 204
- Synonyms:
- bemingle, combine, ming, admix, amalgamate, blend, commingle, intermingle, intermix, involve
- To have sex.
- But after god came to Adam and bad hym knowe his wyf flesshly as nature requyred / Soo lay Adam with his wyf vnder the same tree / and anone the tree whiche was whyte and ful grene as ony grasse and alle that came oute of hit / and in the same tyme that they medled to gyders there was Abel begoten...1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter V, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVII
- Take a Rammes head that neuer medled with an Ewe, cut off at a blow, and the hornes onely taken away, boyle it well skinne and wooll together,[…].1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section...
meddle meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
meddle in Hindi
- to meddle, interfere
- घुसना ghusnā
- to meddle, to interfere with, to tease, mock, annoy
- छेड़ना cheṛnā
meddle in Tamil
- குறுக்கிடு, தலையிடு, கூப்பிடாமலே தலையிடு
meddle in Urdu
- دخل اندازی کرنا, گڑبڑ کرنا, گھسنا, ٹانگ اڑانا
meddle in Bengali
- হস্তক্ষেপ করা, অনধিকার চর্চা করা, নাক গলানো
More languagesFewer languages
- meddle in Malayalam
- ഇടപെടുക, തലയിടുക, ഇടപെട്ടു വഷളാക്കുക
- meddle in Kannada
- ಕೈಹಾಕು, ಕೈಯಿಡು, ತಲೆಹಾಕು, ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸು
- meddle in Tagalog
- manghimasok, makialam
Examples of meddle in a sentence
- They are meddling in matters that men should not wit of.
- Let him wander round and kids gone meddle him til he get to fighting again.
- There are piemakers who embrace the standard whipped-cream topping, and others who meddle with meringue.
Synonyms of meddle
- dabble
- stick one's nose into
- stick one's oar in
- bemingle
- combine
- ming
- admix
- amalgamate
- blend
- commingle
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
- intermingle
- intermix
- involve
- mang
- mingle
- mix
- mix up
- do it
- get it on
- copulate
- couple
- engage in sex
- exchange flesh
- have intimate relations
- have marital relations
- have sex
- have sexual relations
- intercourse
- know
- know someone in the biblical sense
- make love
- mate
- share a bed
- sleep together
- bang
- beat
- bone
- boff
- boink
- bonk
Forms of meddle
| third-person singular present | meddles |
|---|---|
| present participle | meddling |
| past participle | meddled |
| past | meddled |
| alternative form (obsolete) | medle |
Origin of meddle
From Middle English medlen, from Anglo-Norman medler, from Early Medieval Latin misculāre, derived from Latin misceō (“to mix”).
Words formed from meddle
Phrases with meddle
Words that rhyme with meddle
Questions about meddle
- What does meddle mean?
- Meddle means to interfere in or with; to concern oneself with unduly.
- What is meddle in Hindi?
- Meddle in Hindi is घुसना (ghusnā), छेड़ना (cheṛnā). See Meddle meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is meddle?
- Meddle is a verb.
- How do you pronounce meddle?
- Meddle is pronounced /ˈmɛd.əl/.
- What is the past tense of meddle?
- The past tense of meddle is meddled.
Words near meddle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: meddle (page history and authors); घुसना (Hindi) (page history and authors); meddle (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); meddle (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); meddle (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); meddle (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); meddle (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-meddle.ogg.
Cite this entry: “meddle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/meddle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
