goof-up

Or goof·up

[goof-uhp]

noun

Slang.

1. a person who habitually makes mistakes, spoils things, gets into trouble, etc., especially through carelessness or irresponsibility.

2. a mistake, blunder, malfunction, or the like.

Word History and Origins

Origin of goof up¹

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase goof up

Idioms and Phrases

Blunder, make a mistake, spoil. For example, I really goofed up and got all the dates wrong. This expression emerged in the military during World War II, along with the synonymous goof off. Quite often up is omitted, as in Sorry, I goofed. [Slang; c. 1940]

Example Sentences

The NFL vehemently disagreed with Steratore’s contention and a day later Steratore owned up to his goof-up.

Read more on Washington Times

One reason the Raiders are glad they didn’t settle for the sure thing of a tie and eliminate any chance, no matter how small, of a goof-up — a bad snap, a block, a return — was that Las Vegas would have earned the seventh seed had the thrilling Week 18 finale ended in an improbable tie.

Read more on Seattle Times

These numbers point to either a major census data goof-up or one of the most remarkable unreported sociological phenomenon of our times.

Read more on BBC

My goof-up starts a chain reaction.

Read more on Literature

But it appears to have been decades since the last goof-up, so notching two in the same year was striking.

Read more on Washington Times

Related Words

• blunder 
• breach 
• crime 
• error 
• failing 
• failure 
• fault 
• indiscretion 
• miscue 
• negligence 
• offense 
• omission 
• oversight 
• sin 
• transgression 
• violation