mess up
phrasal verb
messed up; messing up; messes up
informal
: to make a mistake : to do something incorrectly
About halfway into the recipe, I realized that I had messed up, and I had to start over.
—often + onShe's afraid she'll mess up on the test.
I messed up on my first attempt.
Examples of mess up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The eternal darkness of Sinkhole has really messed up my vision.
—
Cirocco Dunlap, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2025
The depth of the mental health therapy aspects might get messed up by intermixing with the worldview aspects.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Republicans, however, have said Hobbs messed up the budget, which led to DDD’s $122 million shortfall.
—Annabella Rosciglione, The Washington Examiner, 17 Apr. 2025
That’s right: Matty is willing to mess up the lives of Olympia’s children for her own daughter’s sake.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess up
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Cirocco Dunlap, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2025
The depth of the mental health therapy aspects might get messed up by intermixing with the worldview aspects.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Republicans, however, have said Hobbs messed up the budget, which led to DDD’s $122 million shortfall.
—Annabella Rosciglione, The Washington Examiner, 17 Apr. 2025
That’s right: Matty is willing to mess up the lives of Olympia’s children for her own daughter’s sake.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess up
Cite this Entry
“Mess up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20up. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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