1
: a state of confusion or an error caused by ineptitude, carelessness, or mismanagement
foul-ups in transportation
2
: a mechanical difficulty
fouled up; fouling up; fouls up
1
: to make dirty : contaminate
2
: to spoil by making mistakes or using poor judgment : confuse
: to cause a foul-up : bungle
it was his fault. He had fouled up—
Pat Frank
Pat FrankExamples of foul-up in a Sentence
Noun
there was a foul-up with our mail order, and not one item arrived as ordered
Verb
tried not to foul up the football play
unfortunately, I fouled up and in my e-mail gave everyone the wrong date for the meeting
Recent Examples on the Web
Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 5 Mar. 2025
There are fewer opportunities for foul-ups and mishandling between flights when there are fewer connections and layovers.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 5 Mar. 2025
Alex Harris
july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
His idea is included in the tweet below: By adopting this policy, the league would immediately change the calculations that come with fouling up three.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for foul-up
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Noun
There are fewer opportunities for foul-ups and mishandling between flights when there are fewer connections and layovers.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 5 Mar. 2025
There are fewer opportunities for foul-ups and mishandling between flights when there are fewer connections and layovers.
—Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 5 Mar. 2025
Verb
Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.
—Alex Harris
july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
His idea is included in the tweet below: By adopting this policy, the league would immediately change the calculations that come with fouling up three.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for foul-up
Cite this Entry
“Foul-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foul-up. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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