screwup

noun screw·up \ ˈskrü-ˌəp \

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Examples: screwup in a Sentence

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

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. 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

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.

First Known Use of screwup

1844

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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screwup Synonyms

Synonyms

blunder, bobble, boo-boo, brick, clinker, error, fault, flub, fluff, fumble, gaff, gaffe, goof, inaccuracy, lapse, miscue, misstep, mistake, oversight, slip, slipup, stumble, trip;

Near Antonyms

accuracy, correctness, exactitude, exactness, preciseness, precision, strictness;

inerrancy, infallibility, perfection;

foul-up, snafu;

misapprehension, miscalculation, miscomprehension, misconception, misconstruction, miscue, misdescription, misimpression, misinterpretation, misjudgment, misreading, misstatement, misunderstanding;

screw up

verb

Definition of screw up

transitive verb

1 : to tighten, fasten, or lock by or as if by a screw

2 a : bungle, botch

b : to cause to act or function in a crazy or confused way : confound, disturb

intransitive verb

: to botch an activity or undertaking

See screw up defined for kids

Examples of screw up in a Sentence

we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it
you've totally screwed up the spreadsheet

Recent Examples of screw up from the Web

Last year, Google faced a screw up where some models of its Home Mini were set to record everything and had to be patched.

— geoffrey a. fowler, chicagotribune.com, "Hey Alexa, come clean about how much you're really recording us," 25 May 2018
Also, the Trump team employs a strategy sometimes seen among other conservative trolls on Twitter: intentionally screwing up to own the libs.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Report: Trump’s Tweets Include Intentional Grammatical Errors," 22 May 2018
In trying to protect the confused teen mutant Russell (played by Julian Dennison from the brilliant Hunt For The Wilderpeople), Deadpool screws up—and sets into motion events that catch the eye of time-traveling ass-kicker Cable (Josh Brolin).

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Deadpool 2 review: Not better, but still enough bloody fun for series fans," 17 May 2018
Republicans, do not screw up this golden opportunity to continue winning elections because the ideas Trump has embraced are actually winning ones. Don't abandon them now.

— Fox News, "Secretary Nielsen talks immigration, relationship with Trump," 15 May 2018
Passwords aren't a problem because one user screws up.

— lauren goode, WIRED, "Our Password-Free Future Is Near (But Not Really)," 19 Apr. 2018
Such viewing allegedly screws up the Nielsen-ratings system used to determine game viewership numbers that networks use to charge advertisers for commercials.

— ronnie polaneczky, Philly.com, "Super Bowl watch party at the Linc? Not on our watch … this time | Ronnie Polaneczky," 30 Jan. 2018
Every year in taking chances with players that don't make sense and basically putting players in situation where they won't be optimized just screws up the bigger picture in a lot of different subtle ways.

— andrew sharp and ben golliver, SI.com, "What’s Next For Giannis and the Bucks After Jason Kidd’s Firing?," 22 Jan. 2018
The biggest thing here, what causes everybody problems, is when Harris pulls down the rebound and brings it up himself, that screws up all your transition defensive principles,'' Hawkins said.

— elton alexander, cleveland.com, "Buffalo's March Madness upset of Arizona no surprise to MAC coaches," 16 Oct. 2017

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