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

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

After the fiasco at the party, Stacey attempts to make inroads with the group by reconnecting with Wendy first, despite Wendy having led the charge to ask questions about her personal life on the reunion stage. —Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025

Before this cost-cutting fiasco, Tesla already was having a rough go of it. —Patrick George, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025

After days of explosive online back-and-forth with Nicki Minaj (and a few jabs tossed toward JT), the Bronx rapper hopped on social media with her first video addressing the fiasco that was equal parts warning and reminder. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 3 Oct. 2025

The once-struggling 57-year-old seafood chain had endured an $11 million endless-shrimp fiasco among other mistakes made. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 1 Oct. 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