interfere

Universal Words verb [VN] ~ (in sth) to get involved in and try to influence a situation that does not concern you, in a way that annoys other people: I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. * The police are very unwilling to interfere in family problems. PHRASALVERBS interfere with sb (BrE) to touch a child in a sexual way interfere with sth 1 to prevent sth from succeeding or from being done or happening as planned: She never allows her personal feelings to interfere with her work. 2 to touch, use or change sth, especially a piece of equipment, so that it is damaged or no longer works correctly: I'd get fired if he found out I'd been interfering with his records.