screwup

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noun screw·up \ ˈskrü-ˌəp \

Definition of screwup

1 :one who screws up

2 :botch, blunder

See screwup defined for English-language learners

See screwup defined for kids

Examples of screwup in a Sentence

That was a major screwup.
She's a screwup who can't hold down a job.

Recent Examples of screwup from the Web

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. 2017
This kind of amateur-hour screwup may, unfortunately, scare others away from coming forward with vital information that sheds light on the darkest corners of our recent history.

— jill filipovic, CNN, "The GOP wants to distract you with Reality Winner," 6 June 2017
But Coco is a loveable screwup who can rescue people and animals in ways only a kitty could.

— misha berson, The Seattle Times, "Review: ‘Fire Station 7’ at Seattle Children’s Theatre is three-alarm fun," 5 May 2017
What did the doctor say about always blaming other people for your screwups?

— glenn eichler, The New Yorker, "Listening for Traffic on the Ones," 31 Mar. 2017
On Oscar night, in the first moments after the biggest screwup in Academy Awards history, the two women who run the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rose from their seats in the Dolby Theater and headed in opposite directions.

— rebecca keegan, HWD, "The Academy Is at a Crossroads in the Wake of the Best Picture Fiasco," 29 Mar. 2017
Variety posted smoking-gun photos of PwC accountant Brian Cullinan staring down at his phone in the stage-right wings, and clutching two envelopes and a phone in one hand in the moments before his best-picture screwup.

— rebecca keegan, VanityFair.com, "Redefining Hollywood Accounting," 2 Mar. 2017
Samsung is on an apology tour for the gobsmacking screwup that...

— joanna stern, WSJ, "Why Samsung’s Battery Fix Gets a Grade C, For Now," 22 Jan. 2017
His solar sail project, named Cosmos 1, has faced months of bureaucratic hassles and technical screwups before even breaking the waves.

— evan ratliff, WIRED, "Blastnost!," 1 Dec. 2001

These 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.