to monkey
- verb
- /ˈmʌŋki/
- Informal
- Be careful not to monkey with the settings on the printer; it could cause more problems.
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Watch on YouTubeBut hey, we didn't monkey up our back fourth quarter one score game.
- But hey, we didn't monkey up our back fourth quarter one score game.
Examples
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Don't monkey with the evidence; it needs to be preserved for the investigation.
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We'll monkey with the bike later.
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So people will sing along with me, hopefully they can monkey around too.
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Oh, what a fool I was to monkey about with them.
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Here, don't monkey around with that.
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That'll teach you to monkey with me.
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You do not start monkeying around with that, in my view.
Academic text (1998) -
I heard that new mayor is monkeying with the subway now.
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If you have the perfect recipe for vichyssoise, you don't monkey with it.
Fiction book (2000) -
If you know what's good for you… …you won't monkey around with Fred C. Dobbs.
Synonyms
To interfere with something without permission in a harmful or dishonest way
To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities
To try small changes to fix or improve something
To spend time doing small, not important jobs in a relaxed way
Waste time by acting silly instead of working
To spend time doing not important things in a relaxed way
To spend time doing things that are not important
To spend time slowly doing small simple jobs without hurry
To cheat by changing records or numbers to hide facts
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
Playful mischief that can include small dishonest acts to trick or amuse people
- Offensive
Make someone look silly in front of other people by tricking or embarrassing them
Cause problems on purpose that stop a plan or process from working smoothly
- Informal
A person who is between two sides and cannot change what happens
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
An animal that lives in trees in the Americas with long thin arms and a tail that grasps branches
A large monkey from Central and South American forests that makes very loud calls
A small active monkey with a long tail and dark face that lives in Central and South American forests
- Offensive
A person who only writes routine computer code and has no say in decisions
- South African
A monkey that lives in trees in Africa with long silky fur and small or no thumbs
- US
A sweet pull-apart pastry of baked dough pieces coated in butter, sugar and cinnamon
A monkey from Central and South America with a flat nose and often a tail that can hold things
- South African
A small African monkey with a black face and hands that lives in woods and grassland
- Offensive
A person who answers many phone calls to help customers in a call center
A West African monkey that lives in open grasslands with a greenish-grey back and a yellow tail
A rude, insulting name for people from France that calls them cowardly
A small South American monkey with long soft fur and a tail that cannot hold things
- US
A large tropical tree with wide branches that give shade and seed pods eaten by animals
- Informal
A silly phrase people use to say something is confusing or absurd
- Slur
A rude name for an Asian person who acts like a Western person or who acts strangely
- South African
A monkey that lives on the African savanna with greenish-grey fur and a yellow tail
- Indian
A monkey from Africa or Asia with a tail that cannot hold things and nostrils close together on the nose
- Specialized
A small monkey from Southeast Asia often used in medical research
- South African
A small slender African monkey with long back legs, a long tail, and hair around its face
A small dog like a terrier from Europe with dark rough hair and a short snout with a small beard
- Specialized
A light narrow ladder on a ship that sailors climb to reach the monkey bridge
- South African
A large African tree with a very thick trunk that has fruit with a soft inside that people eat
- Specialized
A rare severe disease from green monkeys caused by a virus that can infect and kill people
A small monkey with reddish fur and a long tail that lives in West Africa and moves quickly
How Thoroughly
Surface Forms
Etymology
To monkey with something comes from the idea of a monkey 'messing' with objects, and so it now means to tamper or fiddle with something, often in a careless or secret way.