snafu

American  

[sna-foo, snaf-oo] / snæˈfu, ˈsnæf u /

noun

1. a badly confused or ridiculously muddled situation.

   A ballot snafu in the election led to a recount.

   Synonyms:

   foul-up, mess, confusion, disorder, disarray, bedlam, snarl

   Antonyms:

   order, organization, calm

2. an error or miscalculation, especially one leading to a confused or muddled situation.

   After some snafu deleted all my data files, I've finally managed to rebuild everything—I think!

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adjective

1. Also snafued in disorder; out of control; chaotic.

   What you’re proposing is a snafu scheme that simply won't work.

verb (used with object)

snafued, snafuing

1. to throw into disorder; muddle.

   Losing his passport snafued the whole vacation.

   Synonyms:

   bungle, mess up, spoil

snafu British  

/ snæˈfuː /

noun

1. confusion or chaos regarded as the normal state

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adjective

1. (postpositive) confused or muddled up, as usual

verb

1. (tr) to throw into chaos

Etymology

Origin of snafu

First recorded in 1940–45; s(ituation) n(ormal): a(ll) f(ucked) u(p); sometimes euphemistically construed as f(ouled) u(p)

Explanation

A snafu is an obstacle or glitch that keeps you from accomplishing something. We hoped to get to the campsite before sundown, but due to several snafus along the way, including a run-in with a bear, we didn't set up camp until midnight. Snafu was originally a World War II-era military acronym standing for "situation normal: all fouled up" (although stronger language was frequently used in place of the word "fouled"). Back in the military, a snafu would have been a dangerous situation, but this word is used now for any kind of error, goof, or mixed-up situation. If you drive all the way to the baseball stadium before realizing you left your tickets at home, that's a snafu.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snafu snafued snafuing

In the end, it turned out to be a more mundane scheduling snafu.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

Jefferies analyst Randal Konik, in a note on Tuesday afternoon, also said the Get Low snafu marked a hit to Lululemon’s reputation.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 21, 2026

It’s doubtful it was a mere bureaucratic snafu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2025

A SigAlert is the Caltrans heads-up to two- and four-wheelin’ Southern Californians that there’s an unexpected highway or freeway snafu that will be lasting at least half an hour — so make your way accordingly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024

Actually, normalcy didn’t seem so bad after my first snafu.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

Cartoonist George Baker's crude, snafued Sad Sack, who had been syndicated to 60 civilian newspapers, was about to become a civilian himself.

From Time Magazine Archive

His haplessly snafued Sad Sack became the image of the downtrodden G.I. doomed to a perpetual losing battle with his own top sergeants.

From Time Magazine Archive

When 100,000 visitors come to town and everybody expects to be treated like Somebody, even A-listers can get snafued.

From Time Magazine Archive

The dangerous shakiness of Snefru's snafued pyramid must have been known to contemporary Egyptians.

From Time Magazine Archive

Detroit's auto-industry analysts estimated potential losses at $130 million, with 300,000 workers idled and production schedules snafued.

From Time Magazine Archive

By every device Nelson & Co. could conceive, the setup eliminates diffuse authority, parallel agencies, snafuing red tape, all other bureaucratic hindrances to efficient administration.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• blunder
• foul-up
• miscalculation
• misunderstanding
• mix-up
• slipup