louse up

verb

loused up; lousing up; louses up

intransitive verb

: to make a mess

Examples of louse up in a Sentence

everything is riding on this project, so we can't afford to louse up I loused up the wallpapering job in the bedroom—the seams show too much.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Which is to say that America’s most prominent vaccine skeptic could have the power to upend, derail, or otherwise louse up a cornerstone of public health. Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 Nov. 2024 Conversely, one of the easiest ways to louse up a team on draft day is to load up a team with players who aren’t going to produce at a level commensurate with when they were drafted. Gary Davenport, The Athletic, 5 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of louse up was in 1934

Dictionary Entries Near louse up

Cite this Entry

“Louse up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/louse%20up. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

louse up

verb
(ˈ)lau̇-ˈsəp
: bungle
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!