as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I've somehow buggered up the program again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugger (up)
Verb
-
Facial recognition can help reduce wait times, eliminate the hassle of fumbling with documents and free up staff to focus on higher-value service.—
Jeff Kim,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025 -
In the first quarter, he was sacked on third-and-7 and fumbled the ball.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The Cleveland Browns blew both a golden opportunity at what would’ve been the surprise upset of Week 1 and a chance to add to the Cincinnati Bengals’ early-season misery of the past few years.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Also, if Utah or Miami were to score an upset in the opening round, St. Louis would have first dibs at taking that team instead of Orlando, which would foul up these predictions completely.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.—
Alex Harris
July 3,
Miami Herald,
3 July 2025
Verb
-
Evolve scenarios as markets do—launch a competitor's product, increase taxes, screw up a promotion, win an award...—
David Mahbub,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Also, the slots are spaced perfectly to match the screw holes on the bottom of a 2.5-inch drive, and the slots are long enough to screw up to three of those drives here.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
To avoid the busiest times, try to visit the wall and the main church ruins early in the morning or later in the afternoon when most tour groups have moved on.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Helene cost him less than 10 percent of that collection, thousands of seeds ruined when his freezers lost power and frost melted.—
Lila Hempel-Edgers,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Bugger (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugger%20%28up%29. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share