mix-up

[miks-uhp]

noun

1. a confused state of things; muddle; tangle.

2. a fight.

mix-up

noun

1. a confused condition or situation

2. informal,  a fight

verb

1. to make into a mixture

   to mix up ingredients

2. to confuse or confound

   Tom mixes John up with Bill

3. (often passive) to put (someone) into a state of confusion

   I'm all mixed up

4. to involve (in an activity or group, esp one that is illegal)

   why did you get mixed up in that drugs racket?

5. informal,  to fight

Word History and Origins

Origin of mix-up¹

First recorded in 1835–45; noun use of verb phrase mix up

Idioms and Phrases

Confuse, confound, as in His explanation just mixed me up even more , or I always mix up the twins . [c. 1800]

Involve or implicate. This usage is usually put in the passive, as in He got mixed up with the wrong crowd . [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

“All clear. There must be some sort of mix-up.”

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Perhaps it had been lost in a comical mix-up involving two identical sheaves of paper, in which Penelope’s notes were mistakenly swapped for, say, a collection of soup recipes.

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Once there, a comical mix-up involving lookalike saddles causes Edith-Anne to meet a boy named Albert, who also plans to take part in the show.

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After that unfortunate mix-up about the plague, Penelope knew that Lady Constance was much too cross with her and the children to approach.

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Semafor identified the man at the center of the reporting mix-up as a 59-year-old wine importer who had received an email from a Times reporter and decided to respond.

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