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

The prime minister has accepted he made a mistake but this mess-up is likely to stick with him.

From BBC

“There was no conspiracy. This was a mess-up. This was a goof,” he said.

From Washington Post

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

From BBC

“I never got to say I’m really sorry that this happened, or I really own that this was a big mess-up on everybody’s part,” she said.

From Washington Post