foul-up

noun \ ˈfau̇(-ə)l-ˌəp \

Updated on: 13 Mar 2018

Definition of foul-up

1 : a state of confusion or an error caused by ineptitude, carelessness, or mismanagement

foul-ups in transportation

2 : a mechanical difficulty

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First Known Use of foul-up

1950

foul-up Synonyms

Synonyms

mix-up;

Related Words

bobble, botch, bungle, fumble;

blunder, error, fault, flub, goof, inaccuracy, lapse, miscue, misstep, mistake, oversight, slip, slipup, stumble;

chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorganization, hash, jumble, mess, muddle, shambles;

foul up

verb

Definition of foul up

transitive verb

1 : to make dirty : contaminate

2 : to spoil by making mistakes or using poor judgment : confuse

3 : entangle, block

fouled up communications

intransitive verb

: to cause a foul-up : bungle

it was his fault. He had fouled up
—Pat Frank

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Examples of foul up in a Sentence

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 of foul up from the Web

Multiple automakers are about to start tests of driverless cars in which there is no one behind the steering wheel waiting to take over in case the car fouls up.

— nathan bomey, USA TODAY, "Why self-driving cars will likely be light-colored," 29 Jan. 2018
Pike doesn't have a lot of chances to foul up with his dad, Dayton head football coach Jeff Nations, following his progress.

— david taylor, Houston Chronicle, "Dayton powerlifting on the rise," 17 Feb. 2018
According to biographer Michelle Vogel, Vélez’s English was often fouled up in the interviews to fit a Mexican stereotype.

— hadley meares, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Turbulent Life and Tragic Death of “Mexican Spitfire” Lupe Velez," 8 Feb. 2018
Within hours of opening, Brightline’s online reservation system fouled up, showing that tickets were sold out for weeks.

— wayne k. roustan, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Want a ticket on the new Brightline express train? After 'glitch,' online sales working again," 12 Jan. 2018
And a trade fight between the U.S. jetmaker and Bombardier Inc. threatens to foul up a separate deal that’s key to Delta’s fleet plans.

— Time, "Delta Is Saying Goodbye to its Boeing 747, the 'Queen of the Skies'," 20 Dec. 2017
Many of those fans were all too happy to stay and watch the Gators pile it on against North Florida (0-4), even groaning loudly at the ref when point guard Chris Chiozza was whistled for an offensive foul up 74-42 midway through the second half.

— ryan young, ajc, "Florida basketball: Gators giving every reason to believe in offensive breakout this season," 16 Nov. 2017
The dismissal of De’Andre Johnson in 2015 and Malik Henry’s quick transfer after one tumultuous season have fouled up Florida State’s class balance at quarterback.

— andy staples, SI.com, "The Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for Teams at the Center of Week 1's Biggest Plot Twists," 4 Sep. 2017
Conversations on hate speech and the toxic language fouling up online debates about the elections were potential fodder for a separate machine-learning research project.

— dune lawrence, Bloomberg.com, "Can Jigsaw’s Designers Make the Internet Safer?," 21 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foul up.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.