flub

American  

[fluhb] / flʌb /

verb (used with or without object)

flubbed, flubbing

1. to perform poorly; blunder; bungle.

   He flubbed the last shot and lost the match.

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noun

1. a blunder.

flub British  

/ flʌb /

noun

1. an embarrassing mistake or blunder

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verb

1. (intr) to blunder or make an embarrassing mistake

Other Word Forms

• flubber
  noun

Etymology

Origin of flub

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; origin uncertain

Explanation

To flub something is to really mess it up. When a movie actor flubs his lines, the scene can be filmed again. But, if he's a stage actor, there's no way to fix the mistake. Even a star basketball player flubs an easy layup sometimes, and the very best students occasionally flub a quiz. The mistake or blunder itself can also be called a flub: "The concert was terrible, full of flubs." The word's been around since the 1920's, possibly influenced by words like "fluff" and "flop," and definitely coined in the United States.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flub flubbed flubbing

Pirro’s team blamed the Interior Department for the flub, saying it had misled prosecutors about the pool.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

Plus, Cher’s onstage flub, Bad Bunny’s strong words for ICE and Justin Bieber’s stripped-down performance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026

The “Cold Mountain” gaffe was a rare instance of a “Good Hang” research flub, one that inadvertently managed to illuminate more of Paltrow’s self-perception.

From Salon ● Jan. 16, 2026

In a later appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Travolta said the flub was a result of him being flustered backstage after meeting Goldie Hawn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2024

The first time through the bridge, I totally flub it.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

Two years later, having un-retired, Messi flubbed another one at the World Cup in Russia in an embarrassing 1-1 draw against Iceland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

From abandoned panic rooms to flubbed Ghostface executions, the characters make so many dumb choices that eventually we’re convinced that Williamson is frustrating us by design.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

I was grateful for Richard when I began doing another exercise video on repeat, one led by a frigid ballerina who never flubbed or joked.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2024

Aliyah Alpert, who finished ninth in 2022, missed the bee entirely last year because she flubbed the word “recoup” in the Yavapai County spelling bee in her home state of Arizona.

From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2024

“What do you mean? I just flubbed it all up.”

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

When he ran for prime minister last year, there were real questions about whether he would take to the political side of the job, and he stumbled at times, flubbing his French, for instance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

Weiss hasn’t been able to spend one day in her tenure at CBS without flubbing something and getting called on it by concerned citizens, and Washington Post readers recently joined the paper’s union in protesting.

From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026

The reasoning is straightforward: Why take a risk of legitimizing his rivals, or becoming a target on stage, or just flubbing, when you’re already in a category of your own?

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2023

Bard did nearly as well, but it interpreted one “9” as a “0,” thus flubbing the final total.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 5, 2023

I mentally resolved to press even at the chance of flubbing.

From John Henry Smith A Humorous Romance of Outdoor Life by Adams, Frederick Upham