slip-up
noun
a mistake, blunder, or oversight.
slip-up
American
[slip-uhp]
/ ˈslɪpˌʌp /
noun
slip up
British
verb
-
informal to make a blunder or mistake; err
-
to fall over
he slipped up in the street
noun
slip up
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of slip-up
First recorded in 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase slip up
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.
See Examples For:
Mrs. Biden mentions that episode as if it were a minor slip-up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
The authors suggest approaching each slip-up with curiosity rather than judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Kihara said that he had been "feeling really down" and blamed himself for the slip-up, conceding: "We did not think we would win."
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Mr Tugendhat probably won’t lose sleep over this slip-up – he won’t have personally written the press release, and he’s got 10 of the Scottish Conservatives’ 31 MSPs backing him.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2024
It was unlike Clarence to be violent, so what happened next was more about his embarrassment over the slip-up than his true nature.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
“We’re in this environment where if you ever slip up at all in any capacity, you get punished for apologizing,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
Ex-Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I still think that Arsenal will win the Premier League. I think they have the easier fixtures, and Man City will slip up in theirs."
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
It is a game where he cannot afford to slip up, but I also feel like he needs a performance to go with the win everyone is expecting.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
"All we can do is be brave. Be in the neck of Arsenal and if they slip up, use it."
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026
She always makes me tell the same story over a week or so later to see if I slip up on any details.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
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.
