monkey with
phrasal verb
monkeyed with; monkeying with; monkeys with
informal
: to handle or play with (something) in a careless way : to monkey around with (something)
I told you not to monkey with the lawn mower.
Examples of monkey with in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At least one hand organ player outfitted his monkey with a red jacket—apparently an early instance of a type of street entertainment that spread across American cities by the early twentieth century.
—
Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 21 Sep. 2025
One monkey with its hands covering its eyes, another with its hands covering its mouth, and a third with its hands covering its ears.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
Irons brought the monkey with him to Kansas City, and, as legend has it, it’s buried somewhere on the property.
—Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2025
The new majority on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors intends to imprudently balance its operating budget by monkeying with its reserve structure and reducing its size.
—Harvey Levine, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025
The doll resembles a hairy monkey with white and beige fur, green eyes with eye bags and dark circles.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Sep. 2025
Jimmy Nelson is asking the Savannah Bananas – please, with chocolate syrup and a cherry on top – to come to Northwest Indiana when the Banana Ball Championship League monkeys with its 2026 schedule.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2025
That’s what The Righteous Gemstones put in front of Judy Gemstone in its final season: a legendary comedic talent with a history of deranged character work, and a monkey with bad intentions who is growing fat on fajita meat.
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 1 May 2025
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Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 21 Sep. 2025
One monkey with its hands covering its eyes, another with its hands covering its mouth, and a third with its hands covering its ears.
—Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
Irons brought the monkey with him to Kansas City, and, as legend has it, it’s buried somewhere on the property.
—Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2025
The new majority on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors intends to imprudently balance its operating budget by monkeying with its reserve structure and reducing its size.
—Harvey Levine, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Sep. 2025
The doll resembles a hairy monkey with white and beige fur, green eyes with eye bags and dark circles.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Sep. 2025
Jimmy Nelson is asking the Savannah Bananas – please, with chocolate syrup and a cherry on top – to come to Northwest Indiana when the Banana Ball Championship League monkeys with its 2026 schedule.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2025
That’s what The Righteous Gemstones put in front of Judy Gemstone in its final season: a legendary comedic talent with a history of deranged character work, and a monkey with bad intentions who is growing fat on fajita meat.
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Monkey with.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monkey%20with. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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