fiasco

1 of 2

noun (1)

fi·​as·​co fē-ˈa-(ˌ)skō 

also

-ˈä- 

plural fiascoes

: a complete failure

The critic called the film a fiasco.

… the total fiasco that was his personal life …

—Margaret Atwood

fiasco

2 of 2

noun (2)

fi·​as·​co fē-ˈä-(ˌ)skō  -ˈa- 

plural fiascoes also fiaschi fē-ˈä-(ˌ)skē 

-ˈa-

: bottle, flask

especially : a bulbous long-necked straw-covered bottle for wine

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bomb
• bummer
• bust
• catastrophe
• clinker
• clunker
• debacle
• débâcle
• disaster
• dud
• failure
• fizzle
• flop
• frost
• lemon
• loser
• miss
• shipwreck
• turkey
• washout

Examples of fiasco in a Sentence

Noun (1)

undaunted by his early fiascoes, he continued his experiments in rocketry

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Overall, Macron personally bears responsibility for this fiasco, and as such is very much diminished politically. Follow me on LinkedIn. —Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

The Bears’ latest calamity ended Thursday with an absolutely astounding final-minute fiasco. —Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 29 Nov. 2024

Unfortunately, the movie is a fiasco from the start, confused, disorganized, and often nonsensical; this one just appears to have gotten away from Ponsoldt. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2024

In the aftermath, Freeman dissected every millisecond of Irish practices, meetings and gatherings in general, stretching from the end of their impressive 23-13 thumping of then-No. 20 Texas A&M on the road through the opening kickoff of the Northern Illinois fiasco. —Terence Moore, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French, from Italian, from fare fiasco, literally, to make a bottle

Noun (2)

Italian, from Late Latin flasco bottle — more at flask

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1854, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1887, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

fiasco

noun

fi·​as·​co

fē-ˈas-kō

plural fiascoes

: a complete failure