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
These products are available because Congress messed up.
—
Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2025
Listen, all this decor is cool, but if that food ain’t right, the holiday is messed up.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 14 Nov. 2025
The Hurricanes committed a dozen penalties, had five drops, committed two turnovers and messed up field position with a few bad special teams plays.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
They’re supposed to be about complicated, messed up people in a complicated, messed up world, but there should be a feeling of hope.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess up
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Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2025
Listen, all this decor is cool, but if that food ain’t right, the holiday is messed up.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 14 Nov. 2025
The Hurricanes committed a dozen penalties, had five drops, committed two turnovers and messed up field position with a few bad special teams plays.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
They’re supposed to be about complicated, messed up people in a complicated, messed up world, but there should be a feeling of hope.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 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 23 Nov. 2025.
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