mess-up

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mess-up

/ˈmɛsˌʌp/

Where it comes from

Deverbal from mess up.

noun mess-ups

informal A mistake or fiasco; something that has gone wrong.
Similar: muck-up, aberration, bloomer, blooper, blunder, boner, boo-boo, break, clanger, cock-up, disadventure, error
informal A person who makes many mistakes.
Similar: alcatote, auf, botcher, bumbler, bungler, blunderer, blunderhead, butterfingers, chucklehead, clodhopper, dauber, duffer

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MLA

"mess-up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mess-up. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mess-up. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mess-up

Chicago

"mess-up." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mess-up.

BibTeX

@misc{mess_up_2026,
  title = {mess-up},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mess-up},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}