Phrase guide

Houston, we have a problem

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈh(j)uːst(ə)n ˌwiː hæv ə ˈpɹɒbləm/
  • General-American: /ˈ(h)justən ˌwi hæv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

phrase

Meaning 1

Used to report that a (major) problem has occurred.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, humorous

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

A misquotation of the phrases “Houston, we’ve had a problem here” and “Houston, we’ve had a problem” said by the American astronauts Jim Lovell (1928–2025) and Jack Swigert (1931–1982), who were crew members of the Apollo 13 moon flight, to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, on April 13, 1970, after an oxygen tank triggered an explosion which led to the mission being aborted. The phrase in the form “Houston, we have a problem” was popularized by the film Apollo 13 (1995). The American screenwriter William Broyles Jr. (born 1944) altered the original phrases as he felt that “[t]he past perfect tense wasn’t as dramatic”. However, the phrase has been used earlier, for example, as the title of a 1974 television movie about the Apollo 13 mission.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: Հյուսթոն, մենք խնդիր ունենքէ (Hyustʻon, menkʻ xndir unenkʻē) — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Basque: Houston, arazo bat daukagu — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Bulgarian: Хюстън, имаме проблем! (Hjustǎn, imame problem!) — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Dutch: Houston, we hebben een probleem — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Finnish: Houston, meillä on ongelma — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • French: Houston, nous avons un problème — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Galician: Houston, temos un problema — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • German: Houston, wir haben ein Problem — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Italian: Houston, abbiamo un problema — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Polish: Houston, mamy problem — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Portuguese: Houston, nós temos um problema — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Russian: Хьюстон, у нас проблема (Xʹjuston, u nas problema) — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Serbo-Croatian: Хјустон, имамо проблем! — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Serbo-Croatian: Houston, imamo problem! — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Serbo-Croatian: Hjuston, imamo problem! — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Slovene: Houston, imamo problem! — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Spanish: Jiuston, tenemos un problema — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Spanish: Houston, tenemos un problema — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Turkish: Houston, bir sorunumuz var — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred
  • Ukrainian: Г'юстоне, у нас проблема (Hʺjustone, u nas problema) — used to report that a (major) problem has occurred