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

You may have just one opportunity to rerecord an answer; if you flub that, there’s no taking it back.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

Perhaps the most famous flub was committed by Yale economics professor Irving Fisher on Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025

The Tony Award winner, whose name was infamously mangled by John Travolta during the 2014 Oscars telecast, is laughing at the infamous flub a decade later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2024

“When I see somebody make a flub on TV, I’m really not all that concerned,” said well-known aging researcher S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 10, 2024

“I’m going to crack, Reynie. You know how badly I handle pressure. I’ll flub it tomorrow, and you’ll all be caught. What kind of friend will I be then?”

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

In the first half of his first game back, Tatum flubbed a dunk and O’Malley winced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 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

But on Gauff’s next opportunity to seal the victory, Jabeur badly flubbed an overhead.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024

Kelly emphasized some of the wrong words, and she still sometimes flubbed Charlotte’s first line by saying “SalutaTAtions” instead of “Salutations.”

From "George" by Alex Gino

The Minion is a movie star flubbing that leap.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

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

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

After flubbing both the signature and the technical, Abbi has to pull it out for the showstopper.

From Salon ● Oct. 14, 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