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mix-up

[miks-uhp]
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noun
  1. a confused state of things; muddle; tangle.
  2. a fight.
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Origin of mix-up

First recorded in 1835–45; noun use of verb phrase mix up
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for mix-up

turmoil, botch, mess, commotion, chaos, muddle, shambles, jumble, tangle, disorder, mistake

Examples from the Web for mix-up

Historical Examples of mix-up

  • It seemed as if I remember Warren and Pearson in some sort of mix-up.

    Cap'n Warren's Wards

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • I saw you, and Phil, and Sing in a mix-up and I hurried along.

  • I was thrown down in the mix-up, but fortunately escaped unharmed.

  • It was my mix-up with that Blenmont aggregation that stirs me up.

    Shorty McCabe

    Sewell Ford

  • It's been put up to me to keep time an' referee this mix-up, and I don't want no help.

    Shorty McCabe

    Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for mix-up

mix-up

noun
  1. a confused condition or situation
  2. informal a fight
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verb mix up (tr, adverb)
  1. to make into a mixtureto mix up ingredients
  2. to confuse or confoundTom mixes John up with Bill
  3. (often passive) to put (someone) into a state of confusionI'm all mixed up
  4. (foll by in or with; usually passive) to involve (in an activity or group, esp one that is illegal)why did you get mixed up in that drugs racket?
  5. mix it up US and Canadian informal to fight
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mix-up

n.

"confusion," 1841, from mix (v.) + up.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper