To meddle means to interfere in someone else's business or affairs when you haven't been invited to help. When you meddle, you're sticking your nose into situations that don't concern you, often making things worse instead of better.

Picture a friend trying to solve a disagreement with their sibling while you keep interrupting with suggestions nobody asked for. That's meddling. Or imagine a classmate rearranging your science project “to help” when you had it organized exactly how you wanted it. That's meddling too.

The word carries a negative feeling because meddling usually isn't truly helpful. A meddler might think they're being useful, but they're actually creating problems or confusion. There's a big difference between offering genuine help when asked and meddling in something that isn't your concern.

You might hear someone say, “Stop meddling!” when they want to handle something themselves. Or a character in a story might be described as a meddlesome neighbor who's always getting involved in other people's private matters.

The key difference between helping and meddling is invitation and appropriateness. Helping means someone wants your involvement. Meddling means you're pushing yourself into a situation where you don't belong.