Home UK English tamper

Meaning of tamper in English:

tamper

Pronunciation /ˈtampə/

See synonyms for tamper

Translate tamper into Spanish

verb

[no object]tamper with

  • Interfere with (something) in order to cause damage or make unauthorized alterations.

    ‘someone tampered with the brakes of my car’
    • ‘The lifting contractor should have qualified personnel inspect all reusable hardware upon receipt for any signs of shipping damage, tampering, or intentional alteration.’
    • ‘On Oct. 1, the FBI, along with private security experts, took the unusual step of publicizing the top 20 ways that hackers tamper with computer systems.’
    • ‘They might gain access to our systems and tamper with data through computer network attacks or exploit it for hostile purposes.’
    • ‘One resident, who wished to remain unnamed, said the lifts had been damaged, the careline tampered with, doorbells vandalised and windows broken.’
    • ‘The train halted again (near Cabin A) after the brake vacuum pipe was tampered with.’
    • ‘Assigned storage spaces shall be located where cylinders will not be knocked over or damaged by passing or falling objects, or be subject to tampering by unauthorized persons.’
    • ‘The basin pipes were tampered with and the vandals squirted cleaning fluid all over the brand new carpets.’
    • ‘The simple fact is that the trial was deeply flawed because it was not illegal in Norway to tamper with copy protection systems.’
    • ‘A Scottish parliament security inquiry was launched last week amid claims that his letter to her was leaked after her computer was tampered with.’
    • ‘Police have called for residents to be extra vigilant after a cashpoint machine was tampered with in the town centre.’
    • ‘Hole-in-the-wall users in the area should be wary after a town centre cash machine was tampered with.’
    • ‘For example, her car brakes were tampered with and she suspects him.’
    • ‘Our priorities are the prompt and safe return of the crew, and the return of the aircraft without further damage or tampering with.’
    • ‘Other items of property have been damaged or tampered with over the past number of months.’
    • ‘Even triggers that may be adjusted arrive from the factory with the adjustments sealed and accompanied by dire warnings about unauthorized tampering.’
    • ‘Still, it's not recommended that you play with the door handle at any time as unauthorized tampering with aircraft equipment may result in arrest…’
    • ‘The independent control system would allow the third party to review all data against the live system and would feature an alarm for any tampering or alteration of data.’
    • ‘To prevent tampering and alteration, the certificate is encrypted.’
    • ‘You can even watch a little video of him deleting the audit file, which keeps a record of any tampering or alterations to the system.’
    • ‘Vials should be stored in a safe area where tampering or possible damage cannot occur.’
    interfere, monkey around, meddle, tinker, fiddle, fiddle about, fiddle, fiddle around, fool about, fool around, play about, play around, toy, trifle, dabble
    View synonyms

noun

  • A machine or tool for tamping down earth or ballast.

    ‘Its hydraulic PTO can manage breakers, tampers, drills, and saws.’
    • ‘Tamp the patch with a tamper or a garden roller filled about one-third full with water, or simply walk on it.’
    • ‘Using a tamper, he levels and compresses the grinds, a technique absolutely necessary for uniform extraction.’
    • ‘I notice the tamper sitting in the down refuge siding near the works depot.’
    • ‘Shaped of such heavy metal the tamper would weigh about a ton.’
    • ‘Compact the material as best as you can with a tamper (a rental item) or the end of a heavy board, adding more material until the hole is slightly overfilled.’
    • ‘Shortly before a scheduled 2:30 p.m. lunch break, the operator asked the laborer and a co-worker to take a tamper in a pickup truck to a place near the roadway.’
    • ‘To build with this technique, moistened soil is placed into a bag set in place on the wall, the bag is lowered into place, then compressed using a hand tamper.’
    • ‘With just a little bit of simple joinery one could make a Shaker-style wooden seed box to replace the modern plastic version, and a soil tamper to firm the compost.’
    • ‘Use a tamper to compact the concrete around the form during pouring.’
    • ‘Then use a tamper (you may want to rent this rarely used hand tool) to compact the stones.’
    • ‘Pipe and cigar smoking each have their own paraphernalia - pipe cases, pipe holders, pouches and tampers, used to mash down the burning tobacco in the bowl of the pipe.’
    • ‘We also buy regular rubber gloves for the guys working in the field and vibration gloves for the jackhammers and tampers.’
    • ‘Mix cement, aggregate, and coloring by hand and fill mold to match specifications of product being finished, using trowel, tamper, and scraper.’

Origin

Mid 16th century (in the sense ‘busy oneself to a particular end, machinate’): alteration of the verb temper.