mess-up
Americannoun
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a blunder; state of confusion; mix-up.
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Create disorder in; muddle or ruin. For example, On rainy days the children really mess up the house , or He had a way of messing up his own business . [c. 1900]
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Make a mistake, especially from nervousness or confusion, as in He messed up and took the wrong dossier to the meeting , or Jill swore she would never mess up again . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]
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Beat up, manhandle, as in Joe got messed up in a barroom brawl . [ Slang ; early 1900s]
Etymology
Origin of mess-up
First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase mess 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.
"What Alan Garten did here is a pretty significant mess-up and again, as you just appropriately stated, it corroborates everything that I said."
From Salon • Jul. 3, 2023
The prime minister has accepted he made a mistake but this mess-up is likely to stick with him.
From BBC • Jan. 21, 2023
Nick Faldo has a pretty eye-opening mess-up right off the bat on the telecast.
From Golf Digest • Apr. 10, 2020
But I’m hoping to be surprised this year — just not in the same way as last year’s mess-up.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 1, 2018
Well, I don’t want any mess-up with the brakeman, so we may as well walk out now that they’re coming back for him.
From Lorimer of the Northwest by Dewey, Alfred James
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.