mess-up

American  

[mes-uhp] / ˈmɛsˌʌp /

noun

1. a blunder; state of confusion; mix-up.

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mess up Idioms  

1. Create disorder in; muddle or ruin. For example, On rainy days the children really mess up the house , or He had a way of messing up his own business . [c. 1900]

2. Make a mistake, especially from nervousness or confusion, as in He messed up and took the wrong dossier to the meeting , or Jill swore she would never mess up again . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]

3. Beat up, manhandle, as in Joe got messed up in a barroom brawl . [ Slang ; early 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of mess-up

First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase mess up

Example Sentences

"What Alan Garten did here is a pretty significant mess-up and again, as you just appropriately stated, it corroborates everything that I said."

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2023

"But it's different for each mess-up, you know?!"

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2021

Nick Faldo has a pretty eye-opening mess-up right off the bat on the telecast.

From Golf Digest • Apr. 10, 2020

And, although I was just a bit-player in the story, the film dramatises a monumental mess-up on my behalf – the biggest mistake of my career.

From The Guardian • Jul. 27, 2019

"If those brutes' instinct isn't at fault there'll be a pretty mess-up," thought Denbigh.

From Rounding up the Raider A Naval Story of the Great War by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)