fiasco

1 of 2

noun (1)

fi·​as·​co fē-ˈa-(ˌ)skō 

also

-ˈä- 

plural fiascoes

: a complete failure

The critic called the film a fiasco.

… the total fiasco that was his personal life …

—Margaret Atwood

fiasco

2 of 2

noun (2)

fi·​as·​co fē-ˈä-(ˌ)skō  -ˈa- 

plural fiascoes also fiaschi fē-ˈä-(ˌ)skē 

-ˈa-

: bottle, flask

especially : a bulbous long-necked straw-covered bottle for wine

Did you know?

English speakers picked up fiasco from the French, who in turn adopted it from the Italian phrase fare fiasco—literally, "to make a bottle." Just what prompted the development of the meaning "failure" from "bottle" has remained obscure. One guess is that when a Venetian glassblower would discover a flaw developing in a beautiful piece they were working on, they would turn it into an ordinary bottle to avoid having to destroy the object. The bottle would naturally represent a failure to the glassblower, whose would-be work of art was downgraded to everyday glassware. This theory, however, remains unsubstantiated.

Synonyms of fiasco

Noun (1)

• disaster
• failure
• catastrophe

Examples of fiasco in a Sentence

Noun (1)

undaunted by his early fiascoes, he continued his experiments in rocketry

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Kremlin is wary of calling for another mobilization after the fiasco of the September 2022 partial mobilization, which spooked hundreds of thousands of Russian men into fleeing the country. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025

Considering how the last fiasco with a third party bringing gossip went down, I just am not intrigued or inclined to explore this line of inquiry any further unless Stacey ups and leaves Thiemo for Chris. —Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025

Wilson also accused the trio of embezzlement; the producers deny the assertions, including the allegation about the locked room fiasco. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 23 Nov. 2025

Unfortunately, both Nessa and Boq somehow end up blaming Elphaba for the whole fiasco. —Megan McCluskey, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French, from Italian, from fare fiasco, literally, to make a bottle

Noun (2)

Italian, from Late Latin flasco bottle — more at flask

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1854, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1887, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fiasco

• casco

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Kids Definition

fiasco

noun

fi·​as·​co

fē-ˈas-kō

plural fiascoes

: a complete failure