mess up
phrasal verb
messed up; messing up; messes up
informal
: to make a mistake : to do something incorrectly
About halfway into the recipe, I realized that I had messed up, and I had to start over.
—often + onShe's afraid she'll mess up on the test.
I messed up on my first attempt.
Examples of mess up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Despite Hiro no longer with them, her other dogs didn't want to mess up the order.
—
Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Also in the top are two more straightforward takes on poutine, fittingly from Montreal Massimo and Kat, who grew up in Wisconsin and wasn’t about to mess up cheese curds.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2025
Heat interference would seriously mess up the telescope's data (the JWST's L2 station is also perfectly protected from solar heat).
—Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
So, the boys were just waiting for one of them to mess up, right?
—Charlotte Walsh, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess up
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Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Also in the top are two more straightforward takes on poutine, fittingly from Montreal Massimo and Kat, who grew up in Wisconsin and wasn’t about to mess up cheese curds.
—Caroline Framke, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2025
Heat interference would seriously mess up the telescope's data (the JWST's L2 station is also perfectly protected from solar heat).
—Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
So, the boys were just waiting for one of them to mess up, right?
—Charlotte Walsh, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess up
Cite this Entry
“Mess up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20up. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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