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
That’s because the actor who played the MC, JR Starr, kept messing up the band’s article-less name, and so the musicians and Lynch decided to go with it as the credit.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 7 Dec. 2024
Avoid ultraviolet ray exposure: UV rays can break down collagen and mess up the production of elastin in your skin.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
Mac and cheese is a natural crowd-pleaser: hearty, homey, vegetarian, and — crucially — hard to mess up.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2024
Another issue the law team faces is clients' concerns about the claim messing up their taxes.
—Olivia Evans, The Courier-Journal, 26 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mess up 
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Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 7 Dec. 2024
Avoid ultraviolet ray exposure: UV rays can break down collagen and mess up the production of elastin in your skin.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
Mac and cheese is a natural crowd-pleaser: hearty, homey, vegetarian, and — crucially — hard to mess up.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2024
Another issue the law team faces is clients' concerns about the claim messing up their taxes.
—Olivia Evans, The Courier-Journal, 26 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mess up
Dictionary Entries Near mess up
Cite this Entry
“Mess up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20up. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
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