screwup
noun
\
screw up
verbDefinition of screw up (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to tighten, fasten, or lock by or as if by a screw
: to botch an activity or undertaking
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Synonyms for screwup
Synonyms: Noun
blunder, bobble, boo-boo, boob [British], brick, clanger [British], clinker, error, fault, flub, fluff, fumble, gaff, gaffe, goof, inaccuracy, lapse, miscue, misstep, mistake, oversight, slip, slipup, stumble, trip
Synonyms: Verb
blow, bobble, boggle, bollix (up), boot, botch, bugger (up), bumble, bungle, butcher, dub, flub, fluff, foozle, foul up, fumble, goof (up), louse up, mangle, mess (up), muck up, muff, murder
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Examples of screwup in a Sentence
Noun
That was a major screwup. She's a screwup who can't hold down a job.Verb
we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it you've totally screwed up the spreadsheet
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The project—and tight-fisted Congress—probably can't handle more cleaning solvent screwups. — Eric Niiler, WIRED, "Delays, Rising Costs Plague NASA's James Webb Space Telescope," 27 June 2018 Irgo never expressed any desire to see Japan, but the 10-year-old German Shepard found himself on an unexpected flight from Denver to the Tokyo area thanks to a United Airlines screwup Tuesday. — Andrew Theen, OregonLive.com, "From Salem to Denver to Japan: A dog's unplanned journey to the Far East thanks to United Airlines," 14 Mar. 2018 Even the president is said to have worried about the beating the young pair, especially his beloved daughter, have taken in the press for their screwups and failures. — The Editors Of Gq, GQ, "The 50 Most Powerful People In Trump’s Washington*," 22 Feb. 2018 Well, a lot of things: more positive attitudes about the GOP tax bill (which Democrats never stopped attacking); more economic optimism; and a stretch of time when President Trump didn’t dominate the news with some fresh hellish screwup. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Is Democratic Cooperation With Trump Depressing Supporters?," 11 Feb. 2018 There have been screwups on the field, questionable decisions from the managers, the usual foibles that have critics pointing the fingers of blame. — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, "It’s Game 7, as it should be, in the World Series," 31 Oct. 2017 In the end, a diluted version of the government screwup that took Barb's (Shannon Purser) life is exposed, catapulting Hawkins into the national spotlight. — Ashley Hoffman, Time, "Stranger Things," 27 Oct. 2017 Miazga meanders in his analysis but his takeaway is simple enough: both Byrnes and Legg were screwups. — Justin Nobel, Longreads, "Atomic City," 5 Sep. 2017 The whole thing was filmed in one session, screwups and all. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "5 Fascinating Things You Didn’t Know About Julia Child, America’s Most Beloved Chef," 15 Aug. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Unlike Mercury, which temporarily screws up expression, Mars retrograde can actually be a lot more excruciating. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "What August's Cancer Horoscope Means for You," 30 July 2018 Because this was such a no-brainer for the series and lead actor nominations (and for writing), that the only thing taking the minimal amount of effort or interest were directing and supporting categories, which the TV Academy totally screwed up. — Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter, "THR's TV Critics Debate the Highs and Lows of the 2018 Emmy Nominations," 12 July 2018 This retrograde has the potential to screw up all things related to communication and transmission. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "Your 2018 Guide to Surviving Mercury Retrograde," 26 July 2018 As these women can attest, there's no one right way to raise a kid, and so much of it is learning (even screwing up) along the way. — Kathryn Lindsay, refinery29.com, "15 Celebrity Moms Get Hilariously Honest About Motherhood," 9 May 2018 The Bard of the late '80s and early '90s was full of kids like me: bright, screwed up, and affectedly miserable. — Matt Taibbi, Town & Country, "Is Bard the New Brown?," 25 Aug. 2014 Given how much every major tech company has screwed up on security, privacy, just basic decency. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Corey Pein, author of ‘Live Work Work Work Die,’ on Recode Decode," 13 June 2018 There are plenty of ways to screw up your suit—too big, too small, matchy-matchy pocket square, you were measured for it via algorithm—but blue suit-plus-brown shoes isn’t one of them. — Sam Schube, GQ, "Trump's economic adviser has one very unnecessary rule for wearing a suit.," 29 May 2018 But no plan can foresee all the ways that a utility might screw up, says Tom Long, legal director of the consumer advocacy group the Utility Reform Network (TURN). — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Big utilities are desperately trying to stick customers for the bills from California wildfires," 4 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'screwup.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for screwup
screwup
noun
English Language Learners Definition of screwup
: a mistake or error
: a person who often makes mistakes especially about important things : someone who often screws up
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