Standard Lemma guide

mess-up

noun · 3 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.

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Pronunciation

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/ˈmɛsˌʌp/

noun

Meaning 1

A mistake or fiasco; something that has gone wrong.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: muck-up, aberration, bloomer, blooper, blunder, boner, boo-boo, break, clanger, cock-up, disadventure, error, fault, faux pas, floater, flub, fluff, fuckup, gaffe, goof, howler, inaccuracy, lapse, lapsus, mess-up, misadventure, misstep, mistake, oopsy, screwup, slip, slip-up, slipup, stumble, thinko, wrength, solecism, erroneity

Antonyms: none provided

noun

Meaning 2

A person who makes many mistakes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: alcatote, auf, botcher, bumbler, bungler, blunderer, blunderhead, butterfingers, chucklehead, clodhopper, dauber, duffer, dumbshit, fuckup, fumblefingers, fumbler, galoot, gaum, gawk, gobaloon, goon, gype, trapes, klutz, lomperd, looby, lubber, lummox, lumpkin, maladroit, mess-up, messup, muff, oaf, palooka, peabrain, pisher, sad sack, schlemiel, schmuck, screwup, shit bird, slangrill, spaz, stumblebum, turkey, weapon, yutz

Antonyms: none provided

noun

Meaning 3

something badly botched or muddled

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ballup, balls-up, cockup

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mistake, error, fault

History

Etymology

Deverbal from mess up.

Word forms

Inflections and variants

mess-ups — plural

Word family

Derived and related words

Derived: none provided

Related: mess up, United Kingdom, UK, U.K., Britain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain

Semantic map

Other relationships

Hypernyms: mistake, error, fault

Sources

Where this information comes from

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