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tamper
9 dictionary results for: tamper
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
tam·per1       [tam-per] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used without object)
1.to meddle, esp. for the purpose of altering, damaging, or misusing (usually fol. by with): Someone has been tampering with the lock.
2.to make changes in something, esp. in order to falsify (usually fol. by with): to tamper with official records.
3.to engage secretly or improperly in something.
4.to engage in underhand or corrupt dealings, esp. in order to influence improperly (usually fol. by with): Any lawyer who tries to tamper with a jury should be disbarred.

[Origin: 1560–70; prob. var. of temper (v.)]

tam·per·er, noun

1. interfere.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
tamp·er2       [tam-per] Pronunciation Key
–noun
a person or thing that tamps.

[Origin: tamp + -er1]
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tam·per 1       (tām'pər)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   tam·pered, tam·per·ing, tam·pers

v.   intr.
  1. To interfere in a harmful manner: tried to tamper with the decedent's will; tampering with the timing mechanism of the safe.
  2. To tinker with rashly or foolishly: Don't tamper with my feelings.
  3. To engage in improper or secret dealings, as in an effort to influence: tamper with a jury. See Synonyms at interfere.

v.   tr.
To alter improperly.


[Probably alteration of temper.]

tam'per·er n.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tamp·er 2       (tām'pər)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   A neutron reflector in an atomic bomb that also delays the expansion of the exploding material, making possible a longer-lasting, more energetic, and more efficient explosion.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tamper  (v.)
1567, figurative use of tamper "to work in clay, etc., so as to mix it thoroughly," probably originally a variant of temper (q.v.), which is how it was initially spelled. Perhaps it is a dialectal workmen's pronunciation. Tamperproof is recorded from 1886.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
tamper

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

verb
1. 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" 
2. intrude in other people's affairs or business; interfere unwantedly; "Don't meddle in my affairs!" [syn: meddle

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: tam·per
Function: intransitive verb
1 : to bring improper influence to bear (as by bribery or intimidation) —used with with <tampered with the jurors>
2 : to alter or interfere in an unauthorized or improper manner —used with with <tampered with evidence>

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tamper

Tamp"er\, n. 1. One who tamps; specifically, one who prepares for blasting, by filling the hole in which the charge is placed.

2. An instrument used in tamping; a tamping iron.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tamper

Tam"per\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tampered; p. pr. & vb. n. Tampering.] [A corruption of temper.]

1. To meddle; to be busy; to try little experiments; as, to tamper with a disease.

'T is dangerous tampering with a muse. --Roscommon.

2. To meddle so as to alter, injure, or vitiate a thing.

3. To deal unfairly; to practice secretly; to use bribery.

Others tampered For Fleetwood, Desborough, and Lambert. --Hudibras.

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