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

It's the kind of idiom which can trip up an AI translator.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

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

“My grandmother used to say if you tie up Devil’s Shoestrings, it’ll trip up any evil that’s after you.”

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

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