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

During last fall’s budget fiasco in City Hall, Quigley opined on the city’s fiscal trajectory by standing with the aldermanic opposition to cheer on potential efficiencies outlined in the Ernst & Young report. — Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2026

Is the Reflecting Pool fiasco even a story? — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 26 June 2026

Britain remembers well the fiasco of 2022, when then-Prime Minister Liz Truss triggered a mass sell-off of bonds after presenting plans for huge unfunded tax cuts. — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 25 June 2026

Nonetheless, Berkeley’s handling of the fiasco had incurred the wrath of King Charles II, who summoned him back to England to explain his actions. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 June 2026

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