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

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

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

"I'm a bit of a pessimist so I'm worried we'll trip up against Haiti," he says.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

After routing their bitter rivals 4-1 in November, they made the short trip up the Seven Sisters Road to inflict another humiliating defeat that pushed Tottenham deeper into the relegation mire.

From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026

Macro concerns didn’t trip up stocks, as the three major benchmarks rose on the day, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026

I trip up the steps, landing flat on the sixth floor.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

Related Words

• flounder
• hesitate
• reel
• waver
• wobble