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Synonyms

screw up

British  

verb

  1. to twist out of shape or distort

  2. to summon up or call upon

    to screw up one's courage

  3. informal (also intr) to mishandle or make a mess (of)

  4. informal (often passive) to cause to become very anxious, confused, or nervous

    he is really screwed up about his exams
"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

noun

  1. slang something mishandled or done badly

"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
screw up Idioms  

  1. Muster or summon up; see pluck up one's courage .

  2. Make a mess of an undertaking; also, make a mistake, as in I really screwed up this report , or She said she was sorry, admitting that she had screwed up . Some authorities believe this usage is a euphemism for fuck up . [ Slang ; c. 1940]

  3. Injure, damage, as in I screwed up my back lifting all those heavy books . [ Slang ]

  4. Make neurotic or anxious, as in Her family really screwed her up, but her therapist has helped her a lot . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I really don’t want to screw up the lineup,” Woods added.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

"I was able to screw up as a teenager and not have it filmed and amplified all over the place."

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026

“If we screw up and can’t fix it, we should fail, and other companies will continue on doing good work and servicing customers,” Altman wrote in a lengthy X post.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

In other words: “We screwed up, but we can screw up better.”

From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025

“I’m just not used to talking in public. I’m scared I’ll screw up, and everybody laughs at me.”

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.