trip up

Idioms  

1. Make or cause someone to make a mistake, as in The other finalist tripped up when he was asked to spell “trireme,” or They tripped him up with that difficult question. [Second half of 1700s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trip up

Bass, desperate to trip up her opponent, talked over her so much that the councilmember responded with the line of the night and possibly the race:

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

“I don’t think this will trip up their plans for the studio’s future,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

There are endless so-called edge cases—unusual situations—that could trip up self-driving cars.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

The Heat funneled the ball to Adebayo on every trip up the court.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026

One day, while Captain Smith is away on an exploration trip up the river, President Ratcliffe makes a decision that costs him his presidency.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

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