cock-up

Definition of cock-upnext
British

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cock-up
Noun
  • Of course this was a calculated power play, not a bureaucratic botch.
    U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
  • During last week's WWE SmackDown, a series of mistakes and botches drew harsh criticism from fans.
    Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In a memo released Thursday morning, Levine Cava did not mention the fuel depot mess in announcing the immediate departures of Morales and Webb.
    Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
  • Platner is navigating this mess with a notably shallow reserve of goodwill, even among his backers on the left.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 June 2026
Noun
  • The episode begins with the Napiers and their team dealing with a flooding fiasco after heavy rain from the night before led to a water leak that damaged four rooms.
    Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
  • The Department of Labor and Employment’s financial monitoring unit issued Spesshardt an internal infraction for his role in the GPS contract fiasco.
    Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
Noun
  • Nonpartisan voter guides from outlets such as CalMatters and KPBS depict the race as offering sharp policy contrasts rather than an indistinct muddle.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026
  • On top of everything else, the film is a muddle of languages — French, German and English — depending on who speaks to whom.
    Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Noun
  • The offense has been a disaster, the pitching staff has sustained some key injuries and the club has spent the first two months struggling to keep its head above water.
    Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 30 May 2026
  • The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters maps and tracks every chemical disaster reported by the media on its website.
    Jason Henry, Oc Register, 30 May 2026
Noun
  • Liaquat Ahamed has spent his career studying the moments when the world’s financial system breaks down — the bad bets, the collective delusions, and the geopolitical accidents that tip economies into catastrophe.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 June 2026
  • Richards had begun privately doubting the timeline—traveling to Paris and London for modeling work, looking around, and noticing an absence of catastrophe.
    JP Mangalindan, Time, 1 June 2026
Noun
  • Her second, released this week, digs through the East Wing’s rubble to rescue that mythology from the debacle of 2024.
    David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 June 2026
  • And of those three, Flo Rida has been conspicuously quiet about the whole debacle.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 June 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Cock-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cock-up. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.

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