as in mistake
an instance of confusion
there was a foul-up with our mail order, and not one item arrived as ordered
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
tried not to foul up the football play
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to trip
to make a mistake
unfortunately, I fouled up and in my e-mail gave everyone the wrong date for the meeting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of foul-up
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Many have faulted Cuba’s Stalinist bureaucratic centralization, but few critiques are as replete with concrete examples of foolishness and foul-ups.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2012
Luke Winkie, The Atlantic, 22 July 2021
But a foul up with super formula license points stole that dream away.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 3 May 2021
See all Example Sentences for foul-up 
Noun
That foul-up then gets included in the series of questions and answers, causing the final answer to go askew.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Many have faulted Cuba’s Stalinist bureaucratic centralization, but few critiques are as replete with concrete examples of foolishness and foul-ups.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2012
Verb
Those intruders chop down the jungles and foul up the wetlands, as the spirits mount an offensive to drive them off the shorelines.
—Luke Winkie, The Atlantic, 22 July 2021
But a foul up with super formula license points stole that dream away.
—Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 3 May 2021
See all Example Sentences for foul-up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foul-up
Noun
-
That portrays the Court as an institution that has made historic mistakes on citizenship and need not be trusted as the sole authority on the meaning of the Constitution.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
The New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2025
-
Daniel Weiner, the director of government and elections at the Brennan Center for Justice, said the legal deadlines were set in part so that there would be time to make revisions before the Electoral Votes were cast in the event of a mistake or legal challenge.—
Daniel Desrochers,
Kansas City Star,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Now, contrast that to the recent experience of Ravens tight end Mark Andrews who, as every devoted local football fan will recall, both fumbled and dropped a crucial two-point conversion pass in a must-win playoff game against the Buffalo Bills.—
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board,
Orlando Sentinel,
25 Jan. 2025
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Like Fuhrman, many were nervous about teachers fumbling over technology and classmates not paying attention.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The Trail Cam Revolution Modern trail cams started appearing in the 1980s with the advent of motion sensors that could trip a camera shutter.—
David Hambling,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
-
Zach Werenski, who has been one of the NHL’s elite performers this season, simply tripped while all alone carrying the puck up the ice on the power play.—
Aaron Portzline,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Norton made the comments in an interview to promote Playing Nice, the new ITV series that follows two couples who discover that their toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
30 Dec. 2024
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Wu's video received hundreds of likes as well as a handful of comments from other TikTok users, some of which were couldn't bring themselves to believe her mix-up.—
George Monastiriakos,
Newsweek,
30 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
The Eagles defense also uncharacteristically blew several coverages in Week 16, including on two of Daniels’ five touchdown passes.—
Ted Nguyen,
The Athletic,
23 Jan. 2025
-
Is this a lot of hocus pocus or a computational paradigm that might blow current capabilities out of the water and make NVDA look like, well, Intel of prior years?—
Vineer Bhansali,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Matthias Schmidt, founder of Schmidt Automotive Research, said BYD’s plans for Germany have stumbled as EV sales slumped after government incentives were removed.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
-
Both players refused to release the ball in an epic battle for possession, the players stumbling toward the TCU student section.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The issue is Jurgens is dealing with a back injury, hence the confusion about his playing at all.—
Joel Thayer,
Newsweek,
26 Jan. 2025
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Fogelman likes to play around with time to create mysteries within otherwise straightforward narratives, and that’s how Paradise works, introducing little points of confusion and then filling in the backstory with flashbacks to flesh things out.—
Daniel Fienberg,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Robby doesn’t want to involve the police and screw up David’s life if this is a false alarm, or there’s still a chance to talk to the kid.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2025
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When politicians screw up on a public stage, those blunders can be, at best, meme-ified and, at worst, career-ending.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
Newsweek,
31 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near foul-up
Cite this Entry
“Foul-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foul-up. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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