bugger (up)

verb

ˈbə-gər How to pronounce bugger (up) (audio)
Definition of bugger (up)next
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bugger (up)
  1. fumble
  2. blow
  3. foul up
  4. screw up
  5. ruin
Verb
  • On the first play of Rutgers' next drive, Surace was sacked at the Rutgers 8 and fumbled with Northwestern’s Jamaal Johnson recovering.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The Chiefs actually missed a 43-yard field goal that would have won the game in regulation — after Justin Houston forced Lamar Jackson to fumble — but won the game with a short kick in overtime.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of fumble
Verb
  • While the 44-6 vote effectively blows a $75 million hole in the mayor's 2027 budget proposal, alders argued the funds were always intended to continue chipping away at the city's $36 billion pension debt, not to help balance next year's budget.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The wind was blowing, and the rain was coming down in buckets.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Then police closed that, too — at midafternoon Tuesday after a report of a suspicious package — fouling up traffic for New Yorkers even more.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • In the end, though, neither an explosion nor a giant spill of fluid that could foul up waterways and the ocean occurred.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
Definition of foul up
Verb
  • Dallas is going to be better, but the Cowboys always screw up.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Sep. 2026
  • That doesn’t mean the Yankees screwed up in their process by trading for Stanton.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of screw up
Verb
  • Someone else even complained about the self-clean feature ruining their appliance.
    — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Unless someone caught the problem in time, the heat ruined the food before anyone had a chance to salvage it.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of ruin
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.

Browse Nearby Words

buggers (up)
bugger (up)
buggies
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Cite this Entry

“Bugger (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bugger%20%28up%29. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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